Variable latency device coordination

ABSTRACT

Systems and processes for operating an intelligent automated assistant are provided. In one example process, an event associated with an audio input is detected with a first process. In accordance with a detection of the event, a delay value associated with an electronic device is determined. The delay value corresponds to a time required to determine, with a second process, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger. In accordance with a determination that the delay value exceeds a threshold, the delay value is broadcast during a first advertising session, and determination is made, during a second advertising session, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input. In accordance with a determination that the threshold is not exceeded, a determination is made, during the first advertising session, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input or wait for the second advertising session.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/679,717, filed Jun. 1, 2018, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/679,871, filed Jun. 3, 2018, the contents ofeach of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety forall purposes.

FIELD

This application relates generally to intelligent automated assistantsand, more specifically, to device coordination for responding to aninput.

BACKGROUND

Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can provide abeneficial interface between human users and electronic devices. Suchassistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems usingnatural language in spoken and/or text forms. For example, a user canprovide a speech input containing a user request to a digital assistantoperating on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpretthe user's intent from the speech input and operationalize the user'sintent into tasks. The tasks can then be performed by executing one ormore services of the electronic device, and a relevant output responsiveto the user request can be returned to the user.

Increasingly, users own multiple devices, each having the ability toinitiate a digital assistant. In such cases, a decision must be made asto which device should respond to a user when the user makes a spokenrequest in proximity of multiple devices. In general, devicecoordination systems may utilize advertising schemes in order to resolvewhich device should respond to a user request. Advertising schemesgenerally send repeated packets over short intervals in order tominimize lost information due to radio interference. Conventional devicecoordination systems may use advertising schemes that send packetsbetween devices based on timed intervals with fixed communicationdeadlines. However, device coordination becomes problematic when devicesdiffer in processing capability. These problems are compounded given thevariable reliability of different communication channels. Thus,conventional systems do not effectively accommodate devices that cannotassemble necessary information fast enough to meet these fixedcommunication deadlines.

SUMMARY

Systems and processes for operating an intelligent automated assistantin a multi-device environment, and arbitrating amongst multiple devices,are provided. In one example process, at an electronic device, an eventassociated with an audio input is detected with a first process. Inaccordance with a detection of the event, a delay value associated withthe electronic device is determined. The delay value corresponds to atime required to determine, with a second process, whether the audioinput includes a spoken trigger for engaging an intelligent automatedassistant. In accordance with a determination that the delay valueexceeds a threshold, the delay value is broadcast during a firstadvertising session, and a determination is made, during a secondadvertising session, whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input. In accordance with a determination that the threshold isnot exceeded, a determination is made, during the first advertisingsession, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio inputor wait for the second advertising session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system and environment forimplementing a digital assistant, according to various examples.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction deviceimplementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant, accordingto various examples.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling, according to various examples.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device implementing theclient-side portion of a digital assistant, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface, according to various examples.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,according to various examples.

FIG. 6A illustrates a personal electronic device, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device,according to various examples.

FIG. 7A is a block diagram illustrating a digital assistant system or aserver portion thereof, according to various examples.

FIG. 7B illustrates the functions of the digital assistant shown in FIG.7A, according to various examples.

FIG. 7C illustrates a portion of an ontology, according to variousexamples.

FIG. 8 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

FIG. 9 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

FIG. 12 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate a plurality of electronic devices according tovarious examples.

FIG. 14 illustrates a process for variable latency device coordination,according to various examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of examples, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which are shown by way of illustration specificexamples that can be practiced. It is to be understood that otherexamples can be used and structural changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the various examples.

Conventional techniques for device coordination are generallyinefficient. In particular, conventional device coordination systems donot effectively handle situations involving variable latency among aplurality of devices. When multiple devices must coordinate to respondto an input, such as a user request, such devices must rely on precisetime synchronization in order to communicate with one another andquickly determine a course of action. For example, in responding to agiven task, an older model device may be unable to assemble theinformation necessary in order to communicate with the other deviceswhen using conventional device coordination systems. Accordingly, anyrelative delay introduced into the device coordination will lead tosynchronization problems, resulting in a poor user experience (e.g.,delayed responses or multiple responses from multiple devices).

In accordance with some systems, computer-readable media, and processesdescribed herein, device coordination is improved by accommodatingslower devices while minimizing impact on faster devices. In one exampleprocess, an event associated with an audio input is detected with afirst process at an electronic device. In accordance with a detection ofthe event, a delay value associated with the electronic device isdetermined. The delay value corresponds to a time required to determine,with a second process, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger(e.g., “Hey Siri” to engage or initiate a virtual assistant). Inaccordance with a determination that the delay value exceeds athreshold, the delay value is broadcast during a first advertisingsession, and a determination is made, during a second advertisingsession, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input(or forgo responding in favor of another device, for example). Inaccordance with a determination that the threshold is not exceeded, adetermination is made during the first advertising session whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input, or if a delay valueis receive from at least a second device, a determination is made duringa second advertising session whether the electronic device is to respondto the audio input.

Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element fromanother. For example, a first input could be termed a second input, and,similarly, a second input could be termed a first input, withoutdeparting from the scope of the various described examples. The firstinput and the second input are both inputs and, in some cases, areseparate and different inputs.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedexamples herein is for the purpose of describing particular examplesonly and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description ofthe various described examples and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also beunderstood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in responseto determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or“in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition orevent]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],”depending on the context.

1. System and Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of system 100 according to variousexamples. In some examples, system 100 implements a digital assistant.The terms “digital assistant,” “virtual assistant,” “intelligentautomated assistant,” or “automatic digital assistant” refer to anyinformation processing system that interprets natural language input inspoken and/or textual form to infer user intent, and performs actionsbased on the inferred user intent. For example, to act on an inferreduser intent, the system performs one or more of the following:identifying a task flow with steps and parameters designed to accomplishthe inferred user intent, inputting specific requirements from theinferred user intent into the task flow; executing the task flow byinvoking programs, methods, services, APIs, or the like; and generatingoutput responses to the user in an audible (e.g., speech) and/or visualform.

Specifically, a digital assistant is capable of accepting a user requestat least partially in the form of a natural language command, request,statement, narrative, and/or inquiry. Typically, the user request seekseither an informational answer or performance of a task by the digitalassistant. A satisfactory response to the user request includes aprovision of the requested informational answer, a performance of therequested task, or a combination of the two. For example, a user asksthe digital assistant a question, such as “Where am I right now?” Basedon the user's current location, the digital assistant answers, “You arein Central Park near the west gate.” The user also requests theperformance of a task, for example, “Please invite my friends to mygirlfriend's birthday party next week.” In response, the digitalassistant can acknowledge the request by saying “Yes, right away,” andthen send a suitable calendar invite on behalf of the user to each ofthe user's friends listed in the user's electronic address book. Duringperformance of a requested task, the digital assistant sometimesinteracts with the user in a continuous dialogue involving multipleexchanges of information over an extended period of time. There arenumerous other ways of interacting with a digital assistant to requestinformation or performance of various tasks. In addition to providingverbal responses and taking programmed actions, the digital assistantalso provides responses in other visual or audio forms, e.g., as text,alerts, music, videos, animations, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some examples, a digital assistant is implementedaccording to a client-server model. The digital assistant includesclient-side portion 102 (hereafter “DA client 102”) executed on userdevice 104 and server-side portion 106 (hereafter “DA server 106”)executed on server system 108. DA client 102 communicates with DA server106 through one or more networks 110. DA client 102 provides client-sidefunctionalities such as user-facing input and output processing andcommunication with DA server 106. DA server 106 provides server-sidefunctionalities for any number of DA clients 102 each residing on arespective user device 104.

In some examples, DA server 106 includes client-facing I/O interface112, one or more processing modules 114, data and models 116, and I/Ointerface to external services 118. The client-facing I/O interface 112facilitates the client-facing input and output processing for DA server106. One or more processing modules 114 utilize data and models 116 toprocess speech input and determine the user's intent based on naturallanguage input. Further, one or more processing modules 114 perform taskexecution based on inferred user intent. In some examples, DA server 106communicates with external services 120 through network(s) 110 for taskcompletion or information acquisition. I/O interface to externalservices 118 facilitates such communications.

User device 104 can be any suitable electronic device. In some examples,user device 104 is a portable multifunctional device (e.g., device 200,described below with reference to FIG. 2A), a multifunctional device(e.g., device 400, described below with reference to FIG. 4), or apersonal electronic device (e.g., device 600, described below withreference to FIG. 6A-6B.) A portable multifunctional device is, forexample, a mobile telephone that also contains other functions, such asPDA and/or music player functions. Specific examples of portablemultifunction devices include the Apple Watch®, iPhone®, iPod Touch®,and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other examples ofportable multifunction devices include, without limitation,earphones/headphones, speakers, and laptop or tablet computers. Further,in some examples, user device 104 is a non-portable multifunctionaldevice. In particular, user device 104 is a desktop computer, a gameconsole, a speaker, a television, or a television set-top box. In someexamples, user device 104 includes a touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,touch screen displays and/or touchpads). Further, user device 104optionally includes one or more other physical user-interface devices,such as a physical keyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick. Variousexamples of electronic devices, such as multifunctional devices, aredescribed below in greater detail.

Examples of communication network(s) 110 include local area networks(LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), e.g., the Internet. Communicationnetwork(s) 110 is implemented using any known network protocol,including various wired or wireless protocols, such as, for example,Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or anyother suitable communication protocol.

Server system 108 is implemented on one or more standalone dataprocessing apparatus or a distributed network of computers. In someexamples, server system 108 also employs various virtual devices and/orservices of third-party service providers (e.g., third-party cloudservice providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/orinfrastructure resources of server system 108.

In some examples, user device 104 communicates with DA server 106 viasecond user device 122. Second user device 122 is similar or identicalto user device 104. For example, second user device 122 is similar todevices 200, 400, or 600 described below with reference to FIGS. 2A, 4,and 6A-6B. User device 104 is configured to communicatively couple tosecond user device 122 via a direct communication connection, such asBluetooth, NFC, BTLE, or the like, or via a wired or wireless network,such as a local Wi-Fi network. In some examples, second user device 122is configured to act as a proxy between user device 104 and DA server106. For example, DA client 102 of user device 104 is configured totransmit information (e.g., a user request received at user device 104)to DA server 106 via second user device 122. DA server 106 processes theinformation and returns relevant data (e.g., data content responsive tothe user request) to user device 104 via second user device 122.

In some examples, user device 104 is configured to communicateabbreviated requests for data to second user device 122 to reduce theamount of information transmitted from user device 104. Second userdevice 122 is configured to determine supplemental information to add tothe abbreviated request to generate a complete request to transmit to DAserver 106. This system architecture can advantageously allow userdevice 104 having limited communication capabilities and/or limitedbattery power (e.g., a watch or a similar compact electronic device) toaccess services provided by DA server 106 by using second user device122, having greater communication capabilities and/or battery power(e.g., a mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or the like),as a proxy to DA server 106. While only two user devices 104 and 122 areshown in FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that system 100, in someexamples, includes any number and type of user devices configured inthis proxy configuration to communicate with DA server system 106.

Although the digital assistant shown in FIG. 1 includes both aclient-side portion (e.g., DA client 102) and a server-side portion(e.g., DA server 106), in some examples, the functions of a digitalassistant are implemented as a standalone application installed on auser device. In addition, the divisions of functionalities between theclient and server portions of the digital assistant can vary indifferent implementations. For instance, in some examples, the DA clientis a thin-client that provides only user-facing input and outputprocessing functions, and delegates all other functionalities of thedigital assistant to a backend server.

2. Electronic Devices

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of electronic devices forimplementing the client-side portion of a digital assistant. FIG. 2A isa block diagram illustrating portable multifunction device 200 withtouch-sensitive display system 212 in accordance with some embodiments.Touch-sensitive display 212 is sometimes called a “touch screen” forconvenience and is sometimes known as or called a “touch-sensitivedisplay system.” Device 200 includes memory 202 (which optionallyincludes one or more computer-readable storage mediums), memorycontroller 222, one or more processing units (CPUs) 220, peripheralsinterface 218, RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, input/output (I/O) subsystem 206, other input controldevices 216, and external port 224. Device 200 optionally includes oneor more optical sensors 264. Device 200 optionally includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of contacts ondevice 200 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitivedisplay system 212 of device 200). Device 200 optionally includes one ormore tactile output generators 267 for generating tactile outputs ondevice 200 (e.g., generating tactile outputs on a touch-sensitivesurface such as touch-sensitive display system 212 of device 200 ortouchpad 455 of device 400). These components optionally communicateover one or more communication buses or signal lines 203.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on thetouch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force orpressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of acontact has a range of values that includes at least four distinctvalues and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., atleast 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (ormeasured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinationsof sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath oradjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measureforce at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In someimplementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors arecombined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of acontact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitivesurface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressureis used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a userinput allows for user access to additional device functionality that mayotherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device withlimited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on atouch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via atouch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or aphysical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 200 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 200 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 2A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/orapplication-specific integrated circuits.

Memory 202 includes one or more computer-readable storage mediums. Thecomputer-readable storage mediums are, for example, tangible andnon-transitory. Memory 202 includes high-speed random access memory andalso includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic diskstorage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-statememory devices. Memory controller 222 controls access to memory 202 byother components of device 200.

In some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofmemory 202 is used to store instructions (e.g., for performing aspectsof processes described below) for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In other examples,the instructions (e.g., for performing aspects of the processesdescribed below) are stored on a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium (not shown) of the server system 108 or are dividedbetween the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory202 and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of serversystem 108.

Peripherals interface 218 is used to couple input and output peripheralsof the device to CPU 220 and memory 202. The one or more processors 220run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructionsstored in memory 202 to perform various functions for device 200 and toprocess data. In some embodiments, peripherals interface 218, CPU 220,and memory controller 222 are implemented on a single chip, such as chip204. In some other embodiments, they are implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 208 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 208 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 208 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry 208optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near fieldcommunication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communicationradio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but notlimited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, aprotocol for e mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP)and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), InstantMessaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service(SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, includingcommunication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of thisdocument.

Audio circuitry 210, speaker 211, and microphone 213 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 200. Audio circuitry 210 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 218, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 211.Speaker 211 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 210 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 213 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 210 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 218 for processing. Audio data are retrieved fromand/or transmitted to memory 202 and/or RF circuitry 208 by peripheralsinterface 218. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 210 also includes aheadset jack (e.g., 312, FIG. 3). The headset jack provides an interfacebetween audio circuitry 210 and removable audio input/outputperipherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with bothoutput (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., amicrophone).

I/O subsystem 206 couples input/output peripherals on device 200, suchas touch screen 212 and other input control devices 216, to peripheralsinterface 218. I/O subsystem 206 optionally includes display controller256, optical sensor controller 258, intensity sensor controller 259,haptic feedback controller 261, and one or more input controllers 260for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers260 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices216. The other input control devices 216 optionally include physicalbuttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, sliderswitches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternateembodiments, input controller(s) 260 are, optionally, coupled to any (ornone) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and apointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 308, FIG.3) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker211 and/or microphone 213. The one or more buttons optionally include apush button (e.g., 306, FIG. 3).

A quick press of the push button disengages a lock of touch screen 212or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlock thedevice, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549,“Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image,” filedDec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 306)turns power to device 200 on or off. The user is able to customize afunctionality of one or more of the buttons. Touch screen 212 is used toimplement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 212 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 256 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 212. Touch screen212 displays visual output to the user. The visual output includesgraphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectivelytermed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visualoutput correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 212 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 212 and display controller 256 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 202) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen212 and convert the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages,or images) that are displayed on touch screen 212. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 212 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 212 uses LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD(light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emittingdiode) technology, although other display technologies may be used inother embodiments. Touch screen 212 and display controller 256 detectcontact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality oftouch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including butnot limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acousticwave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or otherelements for determining one or more points of contact with touch screen212. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensingtechnology is used, such as that found in the iPhone® and iPod Touch®from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 212 isanalogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads described in thefollowing U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No.6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However,touch screen 212 displays visual output from device 200, whereastouch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 212 is asdescribed in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2,2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “MultipointTouchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30,2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures ForTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On ATouch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A TouchScreen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen VirtualKeyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. Allof these applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

Touch screen 212 has, for example, a video resolution in excess of 100dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user makes contact with touch screen 212using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, andso forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to workprimarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be lessprecise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of afinger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translatesthe rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position orcommand for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 200includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivatingparticular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is atouch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, doesnot display visual output. The touchpad is a touch-sensitive surfacethat is separate from touch screen 212 or an extension of thetouch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

Device 200 also includes power system 262 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 262 includes a power management system, one ormore power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 200 also includes one or more optical sensors 264. FIG. 2A showsan optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 258 in I/Osubsystem 206. Optical sensor 264 includes charge-coupled device (CCD)or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors.Optical sensor 264 receives light from the environment, projectedthrough one or more lenses, and converts the light to data representingan image. In conjunction with imaging module 243 (also called a cameramodule), optical sensor 264 captures still images or video. In someembodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device 200,opposite touch screen display 212 on the front of the device so that thetouch screen display is used as a viewfinder for still and/or videoimage acquisition. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe front of the device so that the user's image is obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conferenceparticipants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, theposition of optical sensor 264 can be changed by the user (e.g., byrotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a singleoptical sensor 264 is used along with the touch screen display for bothvideo conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 265. FIG. 2A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 259 in I/O subsystem 206. Contact intensitysensor 265 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 265 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 212). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device 200, opposite touch screendisplay 212, which is located on the front of device 200.

Device 200 also includes one or more proximity sensors 266. FIG. 2Ashows proximity sensor 266 coupled to peripherals interface 218.Alternately, proximity sensor 266 is coupled to input controller 260 inI/O subsystem 206. Proximity sensor 266 is performed as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839, “Proximity Detector InHandheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In HandheldDevice”; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To AugmentProximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “Automated Response ToAnd Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices”; and Ser. No.11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration OfPeripherals,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off anddisables touch screen 212 when the multifunction device is placed nearthe user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 200 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 267. FIG. 2A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 261 in I/O subsystem 206. Tactile outputgenerator 267 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 265 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 233 and generatestactile outputs on device 200 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 200. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 200) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 200). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 200, opposite touch screen display 212, which is located on thefront of device 200.

Device 200 also includes one or more accelerometers 268. FIG. 2A showsaccelerometer 268 coupled to peripherals interface 218. Alternately,accelerometer 268 is coupled to an input controller 260 in I/O subsystem206. Accelerometer 268 performs, for example, as described in U.S.Patent Publication No. 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft DetectionSystem for Portable Electronic Devices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No.20060017692, “Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable DeviceBased On An Accelerometer,” both of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayedon the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view basedon an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers.Device 200 optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 268, amagnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other globalnavigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining informationconcerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) ofdevice 200.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 202include operating system 226, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 228, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 230,graphics module (or set of instructions) 232, text input module (or setof instructions) 234, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 235, Digital Assistant Client Module 229, and applications(or sets of instructions) 236. Further, memory 202 stores data andmodels, such as user data and models 231. Furthermore, in someembodiments, memory 202 (FIG. 2A) or 470 (FIG. 4) stores device/globalinternal state 257, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 4. Device/global internalstate 257 includes one or more of: active application state, indicatingwhich applications, if any, are currently active; display state,indicating what applications, views or other information occupy variousregions of touch screen display 212; sensor state, including informationobtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices216; and location information concerning the device's location and/orattitude.

Operating system 226 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

Communication module 228 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 224 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 208 and/orexternal port 224. External port 224 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects contact with touch screen212 (in conjunction with display controller 256) and othertouch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 230 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 230 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 230 and display controller 256 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 230 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 200). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpador touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations,a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjustingone or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjustingindividual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality ofintensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity”parameter).

Contact/motion module 230 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a fingertap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detectinga finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.

Graphics module 232 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 212 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) ofgraphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics”includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, withoutlimitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objectsincluding soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 232 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 232 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 256.

Haptic feedback module 233 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 267 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 200 inresponse to user interactions with device 200.

Text input module 234, which is, in some examples, a component ofgraphics module 232, provides soft keyboards for entering text invarious applications (e.g., contacts 237, email 240, IM 241, browser247, and any other application that needs text input).

GPS module 235 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 238 foruse in location-based dialing; to camera 243 as picture/video metadata;and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Digital assistant client module 229 includes various client-side digitalassistant instructions to provide the client-side functionalities of thedigital assistant. For example, digital assistant client module 229 iscapable of accepting voice input (e.g., speech input), text input, touchinput, and/or gestural input through various user interfaces (e.g.,microphone 213, accelerometer(s) 268, touch-sensitive display system212, optical sensor(s) 229, other input control devices 216, etc.) ofportable multifunction device 200. Digital assistant client module 229is also capable of providing output in audio (e.g., speech output),visual, and/or tactile forms through various output interfaces (e.g.,speaker 211, touch-sensitive display system 212, tactile outputgenerator(s) 267, etc.) of portable multifunction device 200. Forexample, output is provided as voice, sound, alerts, text messages,menus, graphics, videos, animations, vibrations, and/or combinations oftwo or more of the above. During operation, digital assistant clientmodule 229 communicates with DA server 106 using RF circuitry 208.

User data and models 231 include various data associated with the user(e.g., user-specific vocabulary data, user preference data,user-specified name pronunciations, data from the user's electronicaddress book, to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.) to provide theclient-side functionalities of the digital assistant. Further, user dataand models 231 include various models (e.g., speech recognition models,statistical language models, natural language processing models,ontology, task flow models, service models, etc.) for processing userinput and determining user intent.

In some examples, digital assistant client module 229 utilizes thevarious sensors, subsystems, and peripheral devices of portablemultifunction device 200 to gather additional information from thesurrounding environment of the portable multifunction device 200 toestablish a context associated with a user, the current userinteraction, and/or the current user input. In some examples, digitalassistant client module 229 provides the contextual information or asubset thereof with the user input to DA server 106 to help infer theuser's intent. In some examples, the digital assistant also uses thecontextual information to determine how to prepare and deliver outputsto the user. Contextual information is referred to as context data.

In some examples, the contextual information that accompanies the userinput includes sensor information, e.g., lighting, ambient noise,ambient temperature, images or videos of the surrounding environment,etc. In some examples, the contextual information can also include thephysical state of the device, e.g., device orientation, device location,device temperature, power level, speed, acceleration, motion patterns,cellular signals strength, etc. In some examples, information related tothe software state of DA server 106, e.g., running processes, installedprograms, past and present network activities, background services,error logs, resources usage, etc., and of portable multifunction device200 is provided to DA server 106 as contextual information associatedwith a user input.

In some examples, the digital assistant client module 229 selectivelyprovides information (e.g., user data 231) stored on the portablemultifunction device 200 in response to requests from DA server 106. Insome examples, digital assistant client module 229 also elicitsadditional input from the user via a natural language dialogue or otheruser interfaces upon request by DA server 106. Digital assistant clientmodule 229 passes the additional input to DA server 106 to help DAserver 106 in intent deduction and/or fulfillment of the user's intentexpressed in the user request.

A more detailed description of a digital assistant is described belowwith reference to FIGS. 7A-7C. It should be recognized that digitalassistant client module 229 can include any number of the sub-modules ofdigital assistant module 726 described below.

Applications 236 include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Contacts module 237 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   Telephone module 238;    -   Video conference module 239;    -   E-mail client module 240;    -   Instant messaging (IM) module 241;    -   Workout support module 242;    -   Camera module 243 for still and/or video images;    -   Image management module 244;    -   Video player module;    -   Music player module;    -   Browser module 247;    -   Calendar module 248;    -   Widget modules 249, which includes, in some examples, one or        more of: weather widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2, calculator        widget 249-3, alarm clock widget 249-4, dictionary widget 249-5,        and other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created        widgets 249-6;    -   Widget creator module 250 for making user-created widgets 249-6;    -   Search module 251;    -   Video and music player module 252, which merges video player        module and music player module;    -   Notes module 253;    -   Map module 254; and/or    -   Online video module 255.

Examples of other applications 236 that are stored in memory 202 includeother word processing applications, other image editing applications,drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabledapplications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition,and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, contacts module 237 are used to manage an address book or contactlist (e.g., stored in application internal state 292 of contacts module237 in memory 202 or memory 470), including: adding name(s) to theaddress book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associatingtelephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or otherinformation with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizingand sorting names; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses toinitiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone 238, videoconference module 239, e-mail 240, or IM 241; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller 256, contact/motionmodule 230, graphics module 232, and text input module 234, telephonemodule 238 are used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to atelephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in contactsmodule 237, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial arespective telephone number, conduct a conversation, and disconnect orhang up when the conversation is completed. As noted above, the wirelesscommunication uses any of a plurality of communications standards,protocols, and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, audio circuitry 210, speaker 211,microphone 213, touch screen 212, display controller 256, optical sensor264, optical sensor controller 258, contact/motion module 230, graphicsmodule 232, text input module 234, contacts module 237, and telephonemodule 238, video conference module 239 includes executable instructionsto initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a userand one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, e-mail client module 240 includes executableinstructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response touser instructions. In conjunction with image management module 244,e-mail client module 240 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 243.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, the instant messaging module 241 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages include graphics, photos, audio files, video filesand/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or an EnhancedMessaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers toboth telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) andInternet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, orIMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, GPS module 235, map module 254, and music playermodule, workout support module 242 includes executable instructions tocreate workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burninggoals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receiveworkout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; selectand play music for a workout; and display, store, and transmit workoutdata.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256, opticalsensor(s) 264, optical sensor controller 258, contact/motion module 230,graphics module 232, and image management module 244, camera module 243includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 202, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 202.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, text input module 234,and camera module 243, image management module 244 includes executableinstructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate,label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), andstore still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and textinput module 234, browser module 247 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, e-mail client module 240, and browser module 247,calendar module 248 includes executable instructions to create, display,modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g.,calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, and browser module 247, widget modules 249 aremini-applications that can be downloaded and used by a user (e.g.,weather widget 249-1, stocks widget 249-2, calculator widget 249-3,alarm clock widget 249-4, and dictionary widget 249-5) or created by theuser (e.g., user-created widget 249-6). In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file(e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, and browser module 247, the widget creator module 250are used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specifiedportion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, search module 251 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 202 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210,speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, and browser module 247, video and musicplayer module 252 includes executable instructions that allow the userto download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g.,on touch screen 212 or on an external, connected display via externalport 224). In some embodiments, device 200 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, and text input module234, notes module 253 includes executable instructions to create andmanage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 208, touch screen 212, displaycontroller 256, contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, textinput module 234, GPS module 235, and browser module 247, map module 254are used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associatedwith maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores and other points ofinterest at or near a particular location, and other location-baseddata) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 212, display controller 256,contact/motion module 230, graphics module 232, audio circuitry 210,speaker 211, RF circuitry 208, text input module 234, e-mail clientmodule 240, and browser module 247, online video module 255 includesinstructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., bystreaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or onan external, connected display via external port 224), send an e-mailwith a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments,instant messaging module 241, rather than e-mail client module 240, isused to send a link to a particular online video. Additional descriptionof the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules,and thus various subsets of these modules can be combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module canbe combined with music player module into a single module (e.g., videoand music player module 252, FIG. 2A). In some embodiments, memory 202stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 202 stores additional modules and data structuresnot described above.

In some embodiments, device 200 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device200, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 200 is reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 200 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 200. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 202 (FIG. 2A) or 470 (FIG. 4) includes event sorter 270 (e.g., inoperating system 226) and a respective application 236-1 (e.g., any ofthe aforementioned applications 237-251, 255, 480-490).

Event sorter 270 receives event information and determines theapplication 236-1 and application view 291 of application 236-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 270 includes eventmonitor 271 and event dispatcher module 274. In some embodiments,application 236-1 includes application internal state 292, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitivedisplay 212 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 257 is used by event sorter270 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 292 is used by event sorter 270 to determineapplication views 291 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 292 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 236-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 236-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 236-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 271 receives event information from peripherals interface218. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 212, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 218 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 206 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 266,accelerometer(s) 268, and/or microphone 213 (through audio circuitry210). Information that peripherals interface 218 receives from I/Osubsystem 206 includes information from touch-sensitive display 212 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 271 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 218 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 218 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripherals interface 218 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 270 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 272 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 273.

Hit view determination module 272 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more viewswhen touch-sensitive display 212 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected correspond to programmatic levels within aprogrammatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, thelowest level view in which a touch is detected is called the hit view,and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs is determinedbased, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touch thatbegins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 272 receives information related to subevents of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multiple viewsorganized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 272 identifies ahit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle thesub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level viewin which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the first sub-event inthe sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event). Oncethe hit view is identified by the hit view determination module 272, thehit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch orinput source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 273 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 273 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 273 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 274 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 280). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 273, event dispatcher module 274delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 273. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 274 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver 282.

In some embodiments, operating system 226 includes event sorter 270.Alternatively, application 236-1 includes event sorter 270. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 270 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 202, such as contact/motion module 230.

In some embodiments, application 236-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 290 and one or more application views 291, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 291 of the application 236-1 includes one or more event recognizers280. Typically, a respective application view 291 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 280. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 280 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 236-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 290 includes one or more of: data updater 276, objectupdater 277, GUI updater 278, and/or event data 279 received from eventsorter 270. Event handler 290 utilizes or calls data updater 276, objectupdater 277, or GUI updater 278 to update the application internal state292. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 291 include oneor more respective event handlers 290. Also, in some embodiments, one ormore of data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278 areincluded in a respective application view 291.

A respective event recognizer 280 receives event information (e.g.,event data 279) from event sorter 270 and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 280 includes event receiver 282 andevent comparator 284. In some embodiments, event recognizer 280 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 283, and event deliveryinstructions 288 (which include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver 282 receives event information from event sorter 270. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation also includes speed and direction of the sub-event. In someembodiments, events include rotation of the device from one orientationto another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscapeorientation, or vice versa), and the event information includescorresponding information about the current orientation (also calleddevice attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 284 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 284 includes eventdefinitions 286. Event definitions 286 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(287-1), event 2 (287-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event (287) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (287-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (287-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 212, and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 290.

In some embodiments, event definition 287 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 284 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 212, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 212, event comparator 284 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 290, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 290 should be activated. For example,event comparator 284 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (287) alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 280 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 286, therespective event recognizer 280 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280 includes metadata283 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 283 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another. Insome embodiments, metadata 283 includes configurable properties, flags,and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varyinglevels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 280 activates eventhandler 290 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 280 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 290. Activating an event handler 290 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 280 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 290 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 288 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 276 creates and updates data used inapplication 236-1. For example, data updater 276 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 237, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module. In some embodiments, object updater 277 creates andupdates objects used in application 236-1. For example, object updater277 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 278 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 278 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module232 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 290 includes or has access to dataupdater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278. In someembodiments, data updater 276, object updater 277, and GUI updater 278are included in a single module of a respective application 236-1 orapplication view 291. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 200 withinput devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portable multifunction device 200 having a touchscreen 212 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 300.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 302 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 303 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 200. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 200 also includes one or more physical buttons, such as “home” ormenu button 304. As described previously, menu button 304 is used tonavigate to any application 236 in a set of applications that isexecuted on device 200. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menubutton is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen212.

In one embodiment, device 200 includes touch screen 212, menu button304, push button 306 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 308, subscriber identity module(SIM) card slot 310, headset jack 312, and docking/charging externalport 224. Push button 306 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 200 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 213. Device 200 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 265 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 212 and/or one or more tactile output generators 267 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 200.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 400 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 400 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 400 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 410, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 460, memory 470, and one or more communicationbuses 420 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 420optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 400 includes input/output (I/O) interface 430 comprising display440, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 430 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)450 and touchpad 455, tactile output generator 457 for generatingtactile outputs on device 400 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 267 described above with reference to FIG. 2A), sensors 459(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 265 describedabove with reference to FIG. 2A). Memory 470 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 470 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 410. In some embodiments, memory 470 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 202 of portablemultifunction device 200 (FIG. 2A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 470 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 202 of portable multifunction device200. For example, memory 470 of device 400 optionally stores drawingmodule 480, presentation module 482, word processing module 484, websitecreation module 486, disk authoring module 488, and/or spreadsheetmodule 490, while memory 202 of portable multifunction device 200 (FIG.2A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 4 is, in some examples,stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Eachof the above-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above-identified modules orprograms (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules are combined or otherwise rearranged in variousembodiments. In some embodiments, memory 470 stores a subset of themodules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 470stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces thatcan be implemented on, for example, portable multifunction device 200.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 200 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces are implemented on device 400.In some embodiments, user interface 500 includes the following elements,or a subset or superset thereof:

Signal strength indicator(s) 502 for wireless communication(s), such ascellular and Wi-Fi signals;

-   -   Time 504;    -   Bluetooth indicator 505;    -   Battery status indicator 506;    -   Tray 508 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 516 for telephone module 238, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 514 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 518 for e-mail client module 240, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 510 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 520 for browser module 247, labeled “Browser;” and        -   Icon 522 for video and music player module 252, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 252,            labeled “iPod;” and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 524 for IM module 241, labeled “Messages;”        -   Icon 526 for calendar module 248, labeled “Calendar;”        -   Icon 528 for image management module 244, labeled “Photos;”        -   Icon 530 for camera module 243, labeled “Camera;”        -   Icon 532 for online video module 255, labeled “Online            Video;”        -   Icon 534 for stocks widget 249-2, labeled “Stocks;”        -   Icon 536 for map module 254, labeled “Maps;”        -   Icon 538 for weather widget 249-1, labeled “Weather;”        -   Icon 540 for alarm clock widget 249-4, labeled “Clock;”        -   Icon 542 for workout support module 242, labeled “Workout            Support;”        -   Icon 544 for notes module 253, labeled “Notes;” and        -   Icon 546 for a settings application or module, labeled            “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device 200            and its various applications 236.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 5A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 522 for video and music playermodule 252 is optionally labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labelsare, optionally, used for various application icons. In someembodiments, a label for a respective application icon includes a nameof an application corresponding to the respective application icon. Insome embodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinctfrom a name of an application corresponding to the particularapplication icon.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 400, FIG. 4) with a touch-sensitive surface 551 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 455, FIG. 4) that is separate from the display 550 (e.g.,touch screen display 212). Device 400 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 457) fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 551 and/orone or more tactile output generators 459 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 400.

Although some of the examples which follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 212 (where the touch-sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 5B. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface(e.g., 551 in FIG. 5B) has a primary axis (e.g., 552 in FIG. 5B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 553 in FIG. 5B) on the display(e.g., 550). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 560 and 562 in FIG. 5B) with the touch-sensitive surface551 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 5B, 560 corresponds to 568 and 562 corresponds to 570).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 560 and 562, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,551 in FIG. 5B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 550 in FIG. 5B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a mouse-based input or stylus input).For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click(e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor alongthe path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). Asanother example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouseclick while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detectthe contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneouslydetected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are,optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are,optionally, used simultaneously.

FIG. 6A illustrates exemplary personal electronic device 600. Device 600includes body 602. In some embodiments, device 600 includes some or allof the features described with respect to devices 200 and 400 (e.g.,FIGS. 2A-4). In some embodiments, device 600 has touch-sensitive displayscreen 604, hereafter touch screen 604. Alternatively, or in addition totouch screen 604, device 600 has a display and a touch-sensitivesurface. As with devices 200 and 400, in some embodiments, touch screen604 (or the touch-sensitive surface) has one or more intensity sensorsfor detecting intensity of contacts (e.g., touches) being applied. Theone or more intensity sensors of touch screen 604 (or thetouch-sensitive surface) provide output data that represents theintensity of touches. The user interface of device 600 responds totouches based on their intensity, meaning that touches of differentintensities can invoke different user interface operations on device600.

Techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity are found, forexample, in related applications: International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US2013/040061, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical UserInterface for Displaying User Interface Objects Corresponding to anApplication,” filed May 8, 2013, and International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US2013/069483, titled “Device, Method, and Graphical UserInterface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display OutputRelationships,” filed Nov. 11, 2013, each of which is herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more input mechanisms 606 and608. Input mechanisms 606 and 608, if included, are physical. Examplesof physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatablemechanisms. In some embodiments, device 600 has one or more attachmentmechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, can permitattachment of device 600 with, for example, hats, eyewear, earrings,necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, chains, trousers,belts, shoes, purses, backpacks, and so forth. These attachmentmechanisms permit device 600 to be worn by a user.

FIG. 6B depicts exemplary personal electronic device 600. In someembodiments, device 600 includes some or all of the components describedwith respect to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 4. Device 600 has bus 612 thatoperatively couples I/O section 614 with one or more computer processors616 and memory 618. I/O section 614 is connected to display 604, whichcan have touch-sensitive component 622 and, optionally, touch-intensitysensitive component 624. In addition, I/O section 614 is connected withcommunication unit 630 for receiving application and operating systemdata, using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), cellular,and/or other wireless communication techniques. Device 600 includesinput mechanisms 606 and/or 608. Input mechanism 606 is a rotatableinput device or a depressible and rotatable input device, for example.Input mechanism 608 is a button, in some examples.

Input mechanism 608 is a microphone, in some examples. Personalelectronic device 600 includes, for example, various sensors, such asGPS sensor 632, accelerometer 634, directional sensor 640 (e.g.,compass), gyroscope 636, motion sensor 638, and/or a combinationthereof, all of which are operatively connected to I/O section 614.

Memory 618 of personal electronic device 600 is a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, for storing computer-executableinstructions, which, when executed by one or more computer processors616, for example, cause the computer processors to perform thetechniques and processes described below. The computer-executableinstructions, for example, are also stored and/or transported within anynon-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device,such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or othersystem that can fetch the instructions from the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Personalelectronic device 600 is not limited to the components and configurationof FIG. 6B, but can include other or additional components in multipleconfigurations.

As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactivegraphical user interface object that is, for example, displayed on thedisplay screen of devices 200, 400, and/or 600 (FIGS. 2A, 4, and 6A-6B).For example, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink)each constitutes an affordance.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 455 in FIG. 4 or touch-sensitive surface 551 in FIG. 5B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 212 in FIG. 2A or touch screen 212in FIG. 5A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen actsas a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations,focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristicintensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact basedon one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. Thecharacteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number ofintensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during apredetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting thecontact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or afterdetecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an endof the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity ofthe contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity ofthe contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionallybased on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of thecontact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an averagevalue of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value ofthe intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of theintensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of theintensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, theduration of the contact is used in determining the characteristicintensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of theintensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensitythresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by auser. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds includesa first intensity threshold and a second intensity threshold. In thisexample, a contact with a characteristic intensity that does not exceedthe first threshold results in a first operation, a contact with acharacteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensity threshold anddoes not exceed the second intensity threshold results in a secondoperation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceedsthe second threshold results in a third operation. In some embodiments,a comparison between the characteristic intensity and one or morethresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one or moreoperations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation or forgoperforming the respective operation) rather than being used to determinewhether to perform a first operation or a second operation.

In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposesof determining a characteristic intensity. For example, atouch-sensitive surface receives a continuous swipe contacttransitioning from a start location and reaching an end location, atwhich point the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, thecharacteristic intensity of the contact at the end location is based ononly a portion of the continuous swipe contact, and not the entire swipecontact (e.g., only the portion of the swipe contact at the endlocation). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm is applied to theintensities of the swipe contact prior to determining the characteristicintensity of the contact. For example, the smoothing algorithmoptionally includes one or more of: an unweighted sliding-averagesmoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing algorithm, a median filtersmoothing algorithm, and/or an exponential smoothing algorithm. In somecircumstances, these smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow spikes ordips in the intensities of the swipe contact for purposes of determininga characteristic intensity.

The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface ischaracterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds, such as acontact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensitythreshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more otherintensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations typically associated with clicking a button of a physicalmouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations that are different from operations typically associated withclicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In someembodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominalcontact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is nolonger detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordancewith movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface withoutperforming an operation associated with the light press intensitythreshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unlessotherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent betweendifferent sets of user interface figures.

An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between thelight press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity thresholdis sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase ofcharacteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deeppress intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increaseof characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below thecontact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between thecontact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on thetouch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contactfrom an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to anintensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimesreferred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold isgreater than zero.

In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations areperformed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respectivepress input or in response to detecting the respective press inputperformed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), wherethe respective press input is detected based at least in part ondetecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality ofcontacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments,the respective operation is performed in response to detecting theincrease in intensity of the respective contact above the press-inputintensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective pressinput). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase inintensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensitythreshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact belowthe press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation isperformed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensityof the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “upstroke” of the respective press input).

In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoidaccidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines orselects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationshipto the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensitythreshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensitythreshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or somereasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, insome embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity ofthe respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and asubsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresisintensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensitythreshold, and the respective operation is performed in response todetecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contactbelow the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of therespective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press inputis detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of thecontact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity thresholdto an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and,optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to anintensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respectiveoperation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g.,the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity ofthe contact, depending on the circumstances).

For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed inresponse to a press input associated with a press-input intensitythreshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are,optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase inintensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, anincrease in intensity of a contact from an intensity below thehysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-inputintensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below thepress-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of thecontact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to thepress-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where anoperation is described as being performed in response to detecting adecrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensitythreshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response todetecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresisintensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-inputintensity threshold.

3. Digital Assistant System

FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of digital assistant system 700 inaccordance with various examples. In some examples, digital assistantsystem 700 is implemented on a standalone computer system. In someexamples, digital assistant system 700 is distributed across multiplecomputers. In some examples, some of the modules and functions of thedigital assistant are divided into a server portion and a clientportion, where the client portion resides on one or more user devices(e.g., devices 104, 122, 200, 400, or 600) and communicates with theserver portion (e.g., server system 108) through one or more networks,e.g., as shown in FIG. 1. In some examples, digital assistant system 700is an implementation of server system 108 (and/or DA server 106) shownin FIG. 1. It should be noted that digital assistant system 700 is onlyone example of a digital assistant system, and that digital assistantsystem 700 can have more or fewer components than shown, can combine twoor more components, or can have a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 7A areimplemented in hardware, software instructions for execution by one ormore processors, firmware, including one or more signal processingand/or application specific integrated circuits, or a combinationthereof.

Digital assistant system 700 includes memory 702, one or more processors704, input/output (I/O) interface 706, and network communicationsinterface 708. These components can communicate with one another overone or more communication buses or signal lines 710.

In some examples, memory 702 includes a non-transitory computer-readablemedium, such as high-speed random access memory and/or a non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., one or more magnetic diskstorage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-statememory devices).

In some examples, I/O interface 706 couples input/output devices 716 ofdigital assistant system 700, such as displays, keyboards, touchscreens, and microphones, to user interface module 722. I/O interface706, in conjunction with user interface module 722, receives user inputs(e.g., voice input, keyboard inputs, touch inputs, etc.) and processesthem accordingly. In some examples, e.g., when the digital assistant isimplemented on a standalone user device, digital assistant system 700includes any of the components and I/O communication interfacesdescribed with respect to devices 200, 400, or 600 in FIGS. 2A, 4,6A-6B, respectively. In some examples, digital assistant system 700represents the server portion of a digital assistant implementation, andcan interact with the user through a client-side portion residing on auser device (e.g., devices 104, 200, 400, or 600).

In some examples, the network communications interface 708 includeswired communication port(s) 712 and/or wireless transmission andreception circuitry 714. The wired communication port(s) receives andsend communication signals via one or more wired interfaces, e.g.,Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc. The wirelesscircuitry 714 receives and sends RF signals and/or optical signalsfrom/to communications networks and other communications devices. Thewireless communications use any of a plurality of communicationsstandards, protocols, and technologies, such as GSM, EDGE, CDMA, TDMA,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communicationprotocol. Network communications interface 708 enables communicationbetween digital assistant system 700 with networks, such as theInternet, an intranet, and/or a wireless network, such as a cellulartelephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN), and/or ametropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices.

In some examples, memory 702, or the computer-readable storage media ofmemory 702, stores programs, modules, instructions, and data structuresincluding all or a subset of: operating system 718, communicationsmodule 720, user interface module 722, one or more applications 724, anddigital assistant module 726. In particular, memory 702, or thecomputer-readable storage media of memory 702, stores instructions forperforming the processes described below. One or more processors 704execute these programs, modules, and instructions, and reads/writesfrom/to the data structures.

Operating system 718 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, iOS, OS X,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communications between varioushardware, firmware, and software components.

Communications module 720 facilitates communications between digitalassistant system 700 with other devices over network communicationsinterface 708. For example, communications module 720 communicates withRF circuitry 208 of electronic devices such as devices 200, 400, and 600shown in FIGS. 2A, 4, 6A-6B, respectively. Communications module 720also includes various components for handling data received by wirelesscircuitry 714 and/or wired communications port 712.

User interface module 722 receives commands and/or inputs from a uservia I/O interface 706 (e.g., from a keyboard, touch screen, pointingdevice, controller, and/or microphone), and generate user interfaceobjects on a display. User interface module 722 also prepares anddelivers outputs (e.g., speech, sound, animation, text, icons,vibrations, haptic feedback, light, etc.) to the user via the I/Ointerface 706 (e.g., through displays, audio channels, speakers,touch-pads, etc.).

Applications 724 include programs and/or modules that are configured tobe executed by one or more processors 704. For example, if the digitalassistant system is implemented on a standalone user device,applications 724 include user applications, such as games, a calendarapplication, a navigation application, or an email application. Ifdigital assistant system 700 is implemented on a server, applications724 include resource management applications, diagnostic applications,or scheduling applications, for example.

Memory 702 also stores digital assistant module 726 (or the serverportion of a digital assistant). In some examples, digital assistantmodule 726 includes the following sub-modules, or a subset or supersetthereof: input/output processing module 728, speech-to-text (STT)processing module 730, natural language processing module 732, dialogueflow processing module 734, task flow processing module 736, serviceprocessing module 738, and speech synthesis processing module 740. Eachof these modules has access to one or more of the following systems ordata and models of the digital assistant module 726, or a subset orsuperset thereof: ontology 760, vocabulary index 744, user data 748,task flow models 754, service models 756, and ASR systems 758.

In some examples, using the processing modules, data, and modelsimplemented in digital assistant module 726, the digital assistant canperform at least some of the following: converting speech input intotext; identifying a user's intent expressed in a natural language inputreceived from the user; actively eliciting and obtaining informationneeded to fully infer the user's intent (e.g., by disambiguating words,games, intentions, etc.); determining the task flow for fulfilling theinferred intent; and executing the task flow to fulfill the inferredintent.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 7B, I/O processing module 728interacts with the user through I/O devices 716 in FIG. 7A or with auser device (e.g., devices 104, 200, 400, or 600) through networkcommunications interface 708 in FIG. 7A to obtain user input (e.g., aspeech input) and to provide responses (e.g., as speech outputs) to theuser input. I/O processing module 728 optionally obtains contextualinformation associated with the user input from the user device, alongwith or shortly after the receipt of the user input. The contextualinformation includes user-specific data, vocabulary, and/or preferencesrelevant to the user input. In some examples, the contextual informationalso includes software and hardware states of the user device at thetime the user request is received, and/or information related to thesurrounding environment of the user at the time that the user requestwas received. In some examples, I/O processing module 728 also sendsfollow-up questions to, and receive answers from, the user regarding theuser request. When a user request is received by I/O processing module728 and the user request includes speech input, I/O processing module728 forwards the speech input to STT processing module 730 (or speechrecognizer) for speech-to-text conversions.

STT processing module 730 includes one or more ASR systems 758. The oneor more ASR systems 758 can process the speech input that is receivedthrough I/O processing module 728 to produce a recognition result. EachASR system 758 includes a front-end speech pre-processor. The front-endspeech pre-processor extracts representative features from the speechinput. For example, the front-end speech pre-processor performs aFourier transform on the speech input to extract spectral features thatcharacterize the speech input as a sequence of representativemulti-dimensional vectors. Further, each ASR system 758 includes one ormore speech recognition models (e.g., acoustic models and/or languagemodels) and implements one or more speech recognition engines. Examplesof speech recognition models include Hidden Markov Models,Gaussian-Mixture Models, Deep Neural Network Models, n-gram languagemodels, and other statistical models. Examples of speech recognitionengines include the dynamic time warping based engines and weightedfinite-state transducers (WFST) based engines. The one or more speechrecognition models and the one or more speech recognition engines areused to process the extracted representative features of the front-endspeech pre-processor to produce intermediate recognitions results (e.g.,phonemes, phonemic strings, and sub-words), and ultimately, textrecognition results (e.g., words, word strings, or sequence of tokens).In some examples, the speech input is processed at least partially by athird-party service or on the user's device (e.g., device 104, 200, 400,or 600) to produce the recognition result. Once STT processing module730 produces recognition results containing a text string (e.g., words,or sequence of words, or sequence of tokens), the recognition result ispassed to natural language processing module 732 for intent deduction.In some examples, STT processing module 730 produces multiple candidatetext representations of the speech input. Each candidate textrepresentation is a sequence of words or tokens corresponding to thespeech input. In some examples, each candidate text representation isassociated with a speech recognition confidence score. Based on thespeech recognition confidence scores, STT processing module 730 ranksthe candidate text representations and provides the n-best (e.g., nhighest ranked) candidate text representation(s) to natural languageprocessing module 732 for intent deduction, where n is a predeterminedinteger greater than zero. For example, in one example, only the highestranked (n=1) candidate text representation is passed to natural languageprocessing module 732 for intent deduction. In another example, the fivehighest ranked (n=5) candidate text representations are passed tonatural language processing module 732 for intent deduction.

More details on the speech-to-text processing are described in U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 13/236,942 for “Consolidating SpeechRecognition Results,” filed on Sep. 20, 2011, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

In some examples, STT processing module 730 includes and/or accesses avocabulary of recognizable words via phonetic alphabet conversion module731. Each vocabulary word is associated with one or more candidatepronunciations of the word represented in a speech recognition phoneticalphabet. In particular, the vocabulary of recognizable words includes aword that is associated with a plurality of candidate pronunciations.For example, the vocabulary includes the word “tomato” that isassociated with the candidate pronunciations of /

/ and /

/. Further, vocabulary words are associated with custom candidatepronunciations that are based on previous speech inputs from the user.Such custom candidate pronunciations are stored in STT processing module730 and are associated with a particular user via the user's profile onthe device. In some examples, the candidate pronunciations for words aredetermined based on the spelling of the word and one or more linguisticand/or phonetic rules. In some examples, the candidate pronunciationsare manually generated, e.g., based on known canonical pronunciations.

In some examples, the candidate pronunciations are ranked based on thecommonness of the candidate pronunciation. For example, the candidatepronunciation /

/ is ranked higher than /

/, because the former is a more commonly used pronunciation (e.g., amongall users, for users in a particular geographical region, or for anyother appropriate subset of users). In some examples, candidatepronunciations are ranked based on whether the candidate pronunciationis a custom candidate pronunciation associated with the user. Forexample, custom candidate pronunciations are ranked higher thancanonical candidate pronunciations. This can be useful for recognizingproper nouns having a unique pronunciation that deviates from canonicalpronunciation. In some examples, candidate pronunciations are associatedwith one or more speech characteristics, such as geographic origin,nationality, or ethnicity. For example, the candidate pronunciation /

/ is associated with the United States, whereas the candidatepronunciation /

/is associated with Great Britain. Further, the rank of the candidatepronunciation is based on one or more characteristics (e.g., geographicorigin, nationality, ethnicity, etc.) of the user stored in the user'sprofile on the device. For example, it can be determined from the user'sprofile that the user is associated with the United States. Based on theuser being associated with the United States, the candidatepronunciation /

/ (associated with the United States) is ranked higher than thecandidate pronunciation /

/ (associated with Great Britain). In some examples, one of the rankedcandidate pronunciations is selected as a predicted pronunciation (e.g.,the most likely pronunciation).

When a speech input is received, STT processing module 730 is used todetermine the phonemes corresponding to the speech input (e.g., using anacoustic model), and then attempt to determine words that match thephonemes (e.g., using a language model). For example, if STT processingmodule 730 first identifies the sequence of phonemes /t

/ corresponding to a portion of the speech input, it can then determine,based on vocabulary index 744, that this sequence corresponds to theword “tomato.”

In some examples, STT processing module 730 uses approximate matchingtechniques to determine words in an utterance. Thus, for example, theSTT processing module 730 determines that the sequence of phonemes /

/ corresponds to the word “tomato,” even if that particular sequence ofphonemes is not one of the candidate sequence of phonemes for that word.

Natural language processing module 732 (“natural language processor”) ofthe digital assistant takes the n-best candidate text representation(s)(“word sequence(s)” or “token sequence(s)”) generated by STT processingmodule 730, and attempts to associate each of the candidate textrepresentations with one or more “actionable intents” recognized by thedigital assistant. An “actionable intent” (or “user intent”) representsa task that can be performed by the digital assistant, and can have anassociated task flow implemented in task flow models 754. The associatedtask flow is a series of programmed actions and steps that the digitalassistant takes in order to perform the task. The scope of a digitalassistant's capabilities is dependent on the number and variety of taskflows that have been implemented and stored in task flow models 754, orin other words, on the number and variety of “actionable intents” thatthe digital assistant recognizes. The effectiveness of the digitalassistant, however, also dependents on the assistant's ability to inferthe correct “actionable intent(s)” from the user request expressed innatural language.

In some examples, in addition to the sequence of words or tokensobtained from STT processing module 730, natural language processingmodule 732 also receives contextual information associated with the userrequest, e.g., from I/O processing module 728. The natural languageprocessing module 732 optionally uses the contextual information toclarify, supplement, and/or further define the information contained inthe candidate text representations received from STT processing module730. The contextual information includes, for example, user preferences,hardware, and/or software states of the user device, sensor informationcollected before, during, or shortly after the user request, priorinteractions (e.g., dialogue) between the digital assistant and theuser, and the like. As described herein, contextual information is, insome examples, dynamic, and changes with time, location, content of thedialogue, and other factors.

In some examples, the natural language processing is based on, e.g.,ontology 760. Ontology 760 is a hierarchical structure containing manynodes, each node representing either an “actionable intent” or a“property” relevant to one or more of the “actionable intents” or other“properties.” As noted above, an “actionable intent” represents a taskthat the digital assistant is capable of performing, i.e., it is“actionable” or can be acted on. A “property” represents a parameterassociated with an actionable intent or a sub-aspect of anotherproperty. A linkage between an actionable intent node and a propertynode in ontology 760 defines how a parameter represented by the propertynode pertains to the task represented by the actionable intent node.

In some examples, ontology 760 is made up of actionable intent nodes andproperty nodes. Within ontology 760, each actionable intent node islinked to one or more property nodes either directly or through one ormore intermediate property nodes. Similarly, each property node islinked to one or more actionable intent nodes either directly or throughone or more intermediate property nodes. For example, as shown in FIG.7C, ontology 760 includes a “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., anactionable intent node). Property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time” (forthe reservation), and “party size” are each directly linked to theactionable intent node (i.e., the “restaurant reservation” node).

In addition, property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,”and “location” are sub-nodes of the property node “restaurant,” and areeach linked to the “restaurant reservation” node (i.e., the actionableintent node) through the intermediate property node “restaurant.” Foranother example, as shown in FIG. 7C, ontology 760 also includes a “setreminder” node (i.e., another actionable intent node). Property nodes“date/time” (for setting the reminder) and “subject” (for the reminder)are each linked to the “set reminder” node. Since the property“date/time” is relevant to both the task of making a restaurantreservation and the task of setting a reminder, the property node“date/time” is linked to both the “restaurant reservation” node and the“set reminder” node in ontology 760.

An actionable intent node, along with its linked property nodes, isdescribed as a “domain.” In the present discussion, each domain isassociated with a respective actionable intent, and refers to the groupof nodes (and the relationships there between) associated with theparticular actionable intent. For example, ontology 760 shown in FIG. 7Cincludes an example of restaurant reservation domain 762 and an exampleof reminder domain 764 within ontology 760. The restaurant reservationdomain includes the actionable intent node “restaurant reservation,”property nodes “restaurant,” “date/time,” and “party size,” andsub-property nodes “cuisine,” “price range,” “phone number,” and“location.” Reminder domain 764 includes the actionable intent node “setreminder,” and property nodes “subject” and “date/time.” In someexamples, ontology 760 is made up of many domains. Each domain sharesone or more property nodes with one or more other domains. For example,the “date/time” property node is associated with many different domains(e.g., a scheduling domain, a travel reservation domain, a movie ticketdomain, etc.), in addition to restaurant reservation domain 762 andreminder domain 764.

While FIG. 7C illustrates two example domains within ontology 760, otherdomains include, for example, “find a movie,” “initiate a phone call,”“find directions,” “schedule a meeting,” “send a message,” and “providean answer to a question,” “read a list,” “providing navigationinstructions,” “provide instructions for a task” and so on. A “send amessage” domain is associated with a “send a message” actionable intentnode, and further includes property nodes such as “recipient(s),”“message type,” and “message body.” The property node “recipient” isfurther defined, for example, by the sub-property nodes such as“recipient name” and “message address.”

In some examples, ontology 760 includes all the domains (and henceactionable intents) that the digital assistant is capable ofunderstanding and acting upon. In some examples, ontology 760 ismodified, such as by adding or removing entire domains or nodes, or bymodifying relationships between the nodes within the ontology 760.

In some examples, nodes associated with multiple related actionableintents are clustered under a “super domain” in ontology 760. Forexample, a “travel” super-domain includes a cluster of property nodesand actionable intent nodes related to travel. The actionable intentnodes related to travel includes “airline reservation,” “hotelreservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” “find points of interest,”and so on. The actionable intent nodes under the same super domain(e.g., the “travel” super domain) have many property nodes in common.For example, the actionable intent nodes for “airline reservation,”“hotel reservation,” “car rental,” “get directions,” and “find points ofinterest” share one or more of the property nodes “start location,”“destination,” “departure date/time,” “arrival date/time,” and “partysize.”

In some examples, each node in ontology 760 is associated with a set ofwords and/or phrases that are relevant to the property or actionableintent represented by the node. The respective set of words and/orphrases associated with each node are the so-called “vocabulary”associated with the node. The respective set of words and/or phrasesassociated with each node are stored in vocabulary index 744 inassociation with the property or actionable intent represented by thenode. For example, returning to FIG. 7B, the vocabulary associated withthe node for the property of “restaurant” includes words such as “food,”“drinks,” “cuisine,” “hungry,” “eat,” “pizza,” “fast food,” “meal,” andso on. For another example, the vocabulary associated with the node forthe actionable intent of “initiate a phone call” includes words andphrases such as “call,” “phone,” “dial,” “ring,” “call this number,”“make a call to,” and so on. The vocabulary index 744 optionallyincludes words and phrases in different languages.

Natural language processing module 732 receives the candidate textrepresentations (e.g., text string(s) or token sequence(s)) from STTprocessing module 730, and for each candidate representation, determineswhat nodes are implicated by the words in the candidate textrepresentation. In some examples, if a word or phrase in the candidatetext representation is found to be associated with one or more nodes inontology 760 (via vocabulary index 744), the word or phrase “triggers”or “activates” those nodes. Based on the quantity and/or relativeimportance of the activated nodes, natural language processing module732 selects one of the actionable intents as the task that the userintended the digital assistant to perform. In some examples, the domainthat has the most “triggered” nodes is selected. In some examples, thedomain having the highest confidence value (e.g., based on the relativeimportance of its various triggered nodes) is selected. In someexamples, the domain is selected based on a combination of the numberand the importance of the triggered nodes. In some examples, additionalfactors are considered in selecting the node as well, such as whetherthe digital assistant has previously correctly interpreted a similarrequest from a user.

User data 748 includes user-specific information, such as user-specificvocabulary, user preferences, user address, user's default and secondarylanguages, user's contact list, and other short-term or long-terminformation for each user. In some examples, natural language processingmodule 732 uses the user-specific information to supplement theinformation contained in the user input to further define the userintent. For example, for a user request “invite my friends to mybirthday party,” natural language processing module 732 is able toaccess user data 748 to determine who the “friends” are and when andwhere the “birthday party” would be held, rather than requiring the userto provide such information explicitly in his/her request.

It should be recognized that in some examples, natural languageprocessing module 732 is implemented using one or more machine learningmechanisms (e.g., neural networks). In particular, the one or moremachine learning mechanisms are configured to receive a candidate textrepresentation and contextual information associated with the candidatetext representation. Based on the candidate text representation and theassociated contextual information, the one or more machine learningmechanisms are configured to determine intent confidence scores over aset of candidate actionable intents. Natural language processing module732 can select one or more candidate actionable intents from the set ofcandidate actionable intents based on the determined intent confidencescores. In some examples, an ontology (e.g., ontology 760) is also usedto select the one or more candidate actionable intents from the set ofcandidate actionable intents.

Other details of searching an ontology based on a token string aredescribed in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/341,743 for “Methodand Apparatus for Searching Using An Active Ontology,” filed Dec. 22,2008, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

In some examples, once natural language processing module 732 identifiesan actionable intent (or domain) based on the user request, naturallanguage processing module 732 generates a structured query to representthe identified actionable intent. In some examples, the structured queryincludes parameters for one or more nodes within the domain for theactionable intent, and at least some of the parameters are populatedwith the specific information and requirements specified in the userrequest. For example, the user says “Make me a dinner reservation at asushi place at 7.” In this case, natural language processing module 732is able to correctly identify the actionable intent to be “restaurantreservation” based on the user input. According to the ontology, astructured query for a “restaurant reservation” domain includesparameters such as {Cuisine}, {Time}, {Date}, {Party Size}, and thelike. In some examples, based on the speech input and the text derivedfrom the speech input using STT processing module 730, natural languageprocessing module 732 generates a partial structured query for therestaurant reservation domain, where the partial structured queryincludes the parameters {Cuisine=“Sushi”} and {Time=“7 pm”}. However, inthis example, the user's utterance contains insufficient information tocomplete the structured query associated with the domain. Therefore,other necessary parameters such as {Party Size} and {Date} are notspecified in the structured query based on the information currentlyavailable. In some examples, natural language processing module 732populates some parameters of the structured query with receivedcontextual information. For example, in some examples, if the userrequested a sushi restaurant “near me,” natural language processingmodule 732 populates a {location} parameter in the structured query withGPS coordinates from the user device.

In some examples, natural language processing module 732 identifiesmultiple candidate actionable intents for each candidate textrepresentation received from STT processing module 730. Further, in someexamples, a respective structured query (partial or complete) isgenerated for each identified candidate actionable intent. Naturallanguage processing module 732 determines an intent confidence score foreach candidate actionable intent and ranks the candidate actionableintents based on the intent confidence scores. In some examples, naturallanguage processing module 732 passes the generated structured query (orqueries), including any completed parameters, to task flow processingmodule 736 (“task flow processor”). In some examples, the structuredquery (or queries) for the m-best (e.g., m highest ranked) candidateactionable intents are provided to task flow processing module 736,where m is a predetermined integer greater than zero. In some examples,the structured query (or queries) for the m-best candidate actionableintents are provided to task flow processing module 736 with thecorresponding candidate text representation(s).

Other details of inferring a user intent based on multiple candidateactionable intents determined from multiple candidate textrepresentations of a speech input are described in U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 14/298,725 for “System and Method for InferringUser Intent From Speech Inputs,” filed Jun. 6, 2014, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Task flow processing module 736 is configured to receive the structuredquery (or queries) from natural language processing module 732, completethe structured query, if necessary, and perform the actions required to“complete” the user's ultimate request. In some examples, the variousprocedures necessary to complete these tasks are provided in task flowmodels 754. In some examples, task flow models 754 include proceduresfor obtaining additional information from the user and task flows forperforming actions associated with the actionable intent.

As described above, in order to complete a structured query, task flowprocessing module 736 needs to initiate additional dialogue with theuser in order to obtain additional information, and/or disambiguatepotentially ambiguous utterances. When such interactions are necessary,task flow processing module 736 invokes dialogue flow processing module734 to engage in a dialogue with the user. In some examples, dialogueflow processing module 734 determines how (and/or when) to ask the userfor the additional information and receives and processes the userresponses. The questions are provided to and answers are received fromthe users through I/O processing module 728. In some examples, dialogueflow processing module 734 presents dialogue output to the user viaaudio and/or visual output, and receives input from the user via spokenor physical (e.g., clicking) responses. Continuing with the exampleabove, when task flow processing module 736 invokes dialogue flowprocessing module 734 to determine the “party size” and “date”information for the structured query associated with the domain“restaurant reservation,” dialogue flow processing module 734 generatesquestions such as “For how many people?” and “On which day?” to pass tothe user. Once answers are received from the user, dialogue flowprocessing module 734 then populates the structured query with themissing information, or pass the information to task flow processingmodule 736 to complete the missing information from the structuredquery.

Once task flow processing module 736 has completed the structured queryfor an actionable intent, task flow processing module 736 proceeds toperform the ultimate task associated with the actionable intent.Accordingly, task flow processing module 736 executes the steps andinstructions in the task flow model according to the specific parameterscontained in the structured query. For example, the task flow model forthe actionable intent of “restaurant reservation” includes steps andinstructions for contacting a restaurant and actually requesting areservation for a particular party size at a particular time. Forexample, using a structured query such as: {restaurant reservation,restaurant=ABC Café, date=3/12/2012, time=7 pm, party size=5}, task flowprocessing module 736 performs the steps of: (1) logging onto a serverof the ABC Café or a restaurant reservation system such as OPENTABLE®,(2) entering the date, time, and party size information in a form on thewebsite, (3) submitting the form, and (4) making a calendar entry forthe reservation in the user's calendar.

In some examples, task flow processing module 736 employs the assistanceof service processing module 738 (“service processing module”) tocomplete a task requested in the user input or to provide aninformational answer requested in the user input. For example, serviceprocessing module 738 acts on behalf of task flow processing module 736to make a phone call, set a calendar entry, invoke a map search, invokeor interact with other user applications installed on the user device,and invoke or interact with third-party services (e.g., a restaurantreservation portal, a social networking website, a banking portal,etc.). In some examples, the protocols and application programminginterfaces (API) required by each service are specified by a respectiveservice model among service models 756. Service processing module 738accesses the appropriate service model for a service and generatesrequests for the service in accordance with the protocols and APIsrequired by the service according to the service model.

For example, if a restaurant has enabled an online reservation service,the restaurant submits a service model specifying the necessaryparameters for making a reservation and the APIs for communicating thevalues of the necessary parameter to the online reservation service.When requested by task flow processing module 736, service processingmodule 738 establishes a network connection with the online reservationservice using the web address stored in the service model, and sends thenecessary parameters of the reservation (e.g., time, date, party size)to the online reservation interface in a format according to the API ofthe online reservation service.

In some examples, natural language processing module 732, dialogue flowprocessing module 734, and task flow processing module 736 are usedcollectively and iteratively to infer and define the user's intent,obtain information to further clarify and refine the user intent, andfinally generate a response (i.e., an output to the user, or thecompletion of a task) to fulfill the user's intent. The generatedresponse is a dialogue response to the speech input that at leastpartially fulfills the user's intent. Further, in some examples, thegenerated response is output as a speech output. In these examples, thegenerated response is sent to speech synthesis processing module 740(e.g., speech synthesizer) where it can be processed to synthesize thedialogue response in speech form. In yet other examples, the generatedresponse is data content relevant to satisfying a user request in thespeech input.

In examples where task flow processing module 736 receives multiplestructured queries from natural language processing module 732, taskflow processing module 736 initially processes the first structuredquery of the received structured queries to attempt to complete thefirst structured query and/or execute one or more tasks or actionsrepresented by the first structured query. In some examples, the firststructured query corresponds to the highest ranked actionable intent. Inother examples, the first structured query is selected from the receivedstructured queries based on a combination of the corresponding speechrecognition confidence scores and the corresponding intent confidencescores. In some examples, if task flow processing module 736 encountersan error during processing of the first structured query (e.g., due toan inability to determine a necessary parameter), the task flowprocessing module 736 can proceed to select and process a secondstructured query of the received structured queries that corresponds toa lower ranked actionable intent. The second structured query isselected, for example, based on the speech recognition confidence scoreof the corresponding candidate text representation, the intentconfidence score of the corresponding candidate actionable intent, amissing necessary parameter in the first structured query, or anycombination thereof.

Speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured to synthesizespeech outputs for presentation to the user. Speech synthesis processingmodule 740 synthesizes speech outputs based on text provided by thedigital assistant. For example, the generated dialogue response is inthe form of a text string. Speech synthesis processing module 740converts the text string to an audible speech output. Speech synthesisprocessing module 740 uses any appropriate speech synthesis technique inorder to generate speech outputs from text, including, but not limited,to concatenative synthesis, unit selection synthesis, diphone synthesis,domain-specific synthesis, formant synthesis, articulatory synthesis,hidden Markov model (HMM) based synthesis, and sinewave synthesis. Insome examples, speech synthesis processing module 740 is configured tosynthesize individual words based on phonemic strings corresponding tothe words. For example, a phonemic string is associated with a word inthe generated dialogue response. The phonemic string is stored inmetadata associated with the word. Speech synthesis processing module740 is configured to directly process the phonemic string in themetadata to synthesize the word in speech form.

In some examples, instead of (or in addition to) using speech synthesisprocessing module 740, speech synthesis is performed on a remote device(e.g., the server system 108), and the synthesized speech is sent to theuser device for output to the user. For example, this can occur in someimplementations where outputs for a digital assistant are generated at aserver system. And because server systems generally have more processingpower or resources than a user device, it is possible to obtain higherquality speech outputs than would be practical with client-sidesynthesis.

Additional details on digital assistants can be found in the U.S.Utility application Ser. No. 12/987,982, entitled “Intelligent AutomatedAssistant,” filed Jan. 10, 2011, and U.S. Utility application Ser. No.13/251,088, entitled “Generating and Processing Task Items ThatRepresent Tasks to Perform,” filed Sep. 30, 2011, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

4. Variable Latency Device Coordination

FIGS. 8-12 illustrate exemplary processes for variable latency devicecoordination associated with electronic devices, according to variousexamples. FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate exemplary techniques for intelligentelectronic device arbitration, according to various examples. Thesefigures are also used to illustrate one or more of the processesdescribed below, including process 1400 of FIG. 14.

FIGS. 8-12 illustrate exemplary processes for variable latency devicecoordination by an electronic device in a multi-device environment asshown in FIGS. 13A-13C. In some examples, a user may own multipledevices that each have the ability to initiate a digital assistant. Eachdigital assistant may be programmed to respond to user input on thebasis of one or more triggers, such as a spoken trigger “Hey Siri.” Forexample, a user may provide a spoken instruction corresponding to “HeySiri find me a TV episode,” as discussed further with respect to FIGS.13A-13C. When multiple devices are in proximity of a user, and a digitalassistant for each respective device detects the spoken trigger, thedevices must coordinate to determine which single device will respond tothe spoken trigger.

In some examples, the electronic device may be any device describedherein, including but not limited to devices 104, 200, 400, and 600(FIGS. 1, 2A, 4, and 6A-6B). Thus, it will be appreciated that theelectronic device may be a device of any type, such as a phone, laptopcomputer, desktop computer, tablet, wearable device (e.g., smart watch),set-top box, television, home automation device (e.g., thermostat), orany combination or subcombination thereof. Furthermore, the processesdescribed herein may be performed by a server with information deliveredto and from the device, performed on the device, or a combinationthereof.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary process 800 for variable latency devicecoordination. For example, exemplary process 800 may represent ascenario where system delays do not affect a determination of whether torespond to an audio input. The electronic device is capable of samplingaudio inputs from user, such as audio input 804. For example, theelectronic device samples audio inputs through a microphone to listenfor spoken instructions from a user. In some examples, the electronicdevice continuously samples audio input when the device is powered onand not in a standby state. In some examples, the electronic devicebegins to sample audio input in response to detecting proximity of auser. In some examples, the electronic devices begins to sample audioinput in response to a particular input by a user, such as a spokentrigger. For example, a user may provide a spoken instructioncorresponding to “Hey Siri find me a TV episode.”

In operation, the electronic device detects, with a first process, anevent 802 associated with audio input 804. In some examples, the audioinput 804 may include one or more user utterances. For example, audioinput 804 may include the user utterance “Hey Siri,” which maycorrespond to a spoken trigger. The audio input 804 may, for example, beseveral seconds in length, and may end at a time corresponding to event802 on timeline 806. In some examples, detecting an event associatedwith an audio input includes generating data 808 indicating that theevent 802 associated with the audio input was detected. In someexamples, the data 808 indicating that the event 802 was detected may bereferred to as a first pass trigger, and may be generated at a timecorresponding to data 808 on timeline 806.

In some examples, the first process may be a low power process thatrequires minimal power consumption and computing resources. For example,the first process may determine a possibility that the audio input 804includes the spoken trigger. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the electronic device is powered on and is not in astandby mode, process 800 may continuously determine, with the firstprocess, whether an event 802 associated with an audio input 804 isdetected. In some examples, in accordance with a determination that asecondary device, such as a wireless headset, is connected to theelectronic device, process 800 may generate data 808 indicating that theevent 802 associated with the audio input was detected. For example, dueto a time required to communicate necessary information from a specificsecondary device to the electronic device (e.g., a Bluetooth headset toa mobile phone), process 800 may always generate a first pass triggerwhen a specific secondary device is connected to the electronic device.

In some examples, in accordance with a detection of the event 802, theelectronic device determines a first delay value associated with theelectronic device. In some examples, the first delay value correspondsto a time required to determine, with a second process, whether theaudio input 804 includes a spoken trigger. In some examples, the firstdelay value may be based on historical timing information associatedwith determining whether an audio input includes a spoken trigger. Forexample, if a respective device routinely requires between tenmillisecond and twenty milliseconds to determine whether the audio inputincludes a spoken trigger, the first delay value may be determined basedon an average of the historical timing information, such as fifteenmilliseconds. As another example, the first delay value may bedetermined based on an maximum of the historical timing information,such as twenty milliseconds. In some examples, the second process, usedto determine whether the audio input 804 includes a spoken trigger, mayrequire more power consumption and computing resources than the firstprocess. For example, the second process may utilize one or morelanguage processing modules, such as STT processing module 730 and/ornatural language processing module 732, in order to verify whether theaudio input 804 includes the spoken trigger.

In some examples, the first delay value corresponds to device processingcapabilities, wireless connection speed, wireless connection quality,and/or any other factors that affect the time required to determinewhether the audio input includes a spoken trigger. In some examples, thefirst delay value corresponds to a total processing time associated withthe second process. For example, a short first delay value maycorrespond to a fast processing time associated with the electronicdevice, and specifically the second process. As another example, a longfirst delay value may correspond to slow processing time associated withelectronic device, and specifically the second process. As yet anotherexample, a short first delay value may correspond to a fast connectionspeed associated with a wireless connection that the electronic deviceis utilizing. As another example, a long first delay value maycorrespond to a slow connection speed associated with a wirelessconnection that the electronic device is utilizing. In some examples,the length of the first delay value may correspond to a combination offast or slow processing times, fast or slow wireless connection speeds,or other factors that may affect the time required to determine whetherthe audio input includes a spoken trigger. For example, an above averagefirst delay value may correspond to a fast processing time and anaverage connection speed.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the electronicdevice determines, during the first advertising session 812, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input 804. For example,when any potential delay permits the electronic device to assemble,within a fixed-time deadline, the necessary information to perform thesecond process to determine whether the audio input 804 includes aspoken trigger, the first delay value does not exceed a predeterminedthreshold. Similarly, when a given delay prohibits the electronic devicefrom assembling, within the fixed-time deadline, the necessaryinformation to perform the second process to determine whether the audioinput 804 includes the spoken trigger, the first delay value does exceeda predetermined threshold. In some examples, the fixed-time deadline maycorrespond to the end of a standard target, depicted by time point 814on timeline 806. In some examples, the first delay value does not exceeda predetermined threshold when the electronic device is able toassemble, prior to time point 814, the necessary information todetermine whether the audio input 804 includes a spoken trigger.

In some examples, determining, with a second process, that the audioinput includes a spoken trigger includes generating data 810 indicatingthat the audio input 804 includes a spoken trigger. In some examples,the data 810 indicating that the audio input 804 includes a spokentrigger may be referred to as a second pass trigger, and may begenerated at a time corresponding to data 810 on timeline 806. In someexamples, in response to determining, with a second process, that theaudio input includes a spoken trigger, one or more times associated witha first advertising session 812 are determined. For example, a timerange, or “window,” is set for the first advertising session 812.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes a spoken trigger, the electronic device determines,during the first advertising session 812, whether the electronic deviceis to respond to the audio input 804. In some examples, thedetermination of whether to respond to the audio input 804 occurs inaccordance with both a determination that the first delay value does notexceed a predetermined threshold and a determination that the audioinput 804 includes a spoken trigger. For example, the electronic devicemay be capable of assembling necessary information for determining,prior to the fixed time deadline, whether the audio input 804 includes aspoken trigger, and may further determine that the audio input 804 doesinclude a spoken trigger.

In some examples, determining whether to respond to the audio input 804further includes determining, during the first advertising session 812,whether a second advertising session is to be initiated. In someexamples, in accordance with a determination that no delay values arereceived during the first advertising session 812, the electronic devicedetermines that a second advertising session is not to be initiated. Forexample, as discussed further herein, when the electronic device iscapable of assembling necessary information for determining whether theaudio input includes a spoken trigger, and the electronic devicereceives no delay values from other electronic devices during the firstadvertising session 812, the electronic device determines that a secondadvertising session is not to be initiated.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input, the electronic devicedetermines whether one or more broadcast values are received from asecond electronic device, and in accordance with a determination thatone or more broadcast values are received from a second electronicdevice, the electronic device transmits, to the second electronicdevice, an indication that the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input. For example, once a determination is made that theelectronic device will respond to audio input 804, any other electronicdevice that attempts to respond to the audio input will be informed thatsuch response, by that device, is not needed. The determination ofwhether to respond to the audio input 804 is described in more detailwith reference to FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary process 900 for variable latency devicecoordination. For example, exemplary process 900 may represent ascenario where system delays affect a determination of whether torespond to an audio input, such as delay caused by one or moreadditional devices and/or communication channels. In operation, theelectronic device detects, with a first process, an event 902 associatedwith an audio input. In some examples, in accordance with a detection ofthe event 902, the electronic device determines a first delay valueassociated with the electronic device. In some examples, the first delayvalue corresponds to a time required to determine, with a secondprocess, whether the audio input 904 includes a spoken trigger.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the electronicdevice determines, during the first advertising session 908, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input 904 or wait for asecond advertising session 910. For example, in accordance with adetermination that the first delay value does not exceed a predeterminedthreshold, the electronic device determines, during the firstadvertising session 908, whether a second advertising session 910 is tobe initiated. In some examples, in accordance with a determination thatno delay values are received during the first advertising session 908,the electronic devices determines a second advertising session is not tobe initiated, as discussed with respect to FIG. 8. In some examples, inaccordance with a determination that one or more delay values arereceived during the first advertising session 908, the electronicdevices determines that a second advertising session 910 is to beinitiated. For example, one or more delay values may be received fromone or more additional devices, such as devices 1302-1310, depicted inFIGS. 13A-13C.

In some examples, determining that a second advertising session 910 isto be initiated further includes determining a maximum delay value fromone or more delay values received during the first advertising session908, and further determining the time associated with the secondadvertising session 910 based on the maximum delay value. The electronicdevice may receive a plurality of delay values from other devices,including one millisecond, ten milliseconds, and twenty milliseconds.The electronic device may determine that the maximum delay valueassociated with the plurality of received delay values is twentymilliseconds. Based on the determined maximum delay value, for example,the electronic device may determine a time associated with the secondadvertising session 910 based on the delay value of twenty milliseconds.For example, a time range, or “window,” is set for the secondadvertising session 910 based on the delay of twenty milliseconds.

In some examples, in response to determining that a second advertisingsession 910 is to be initiated, the electronic device determines, duringthe second advertising session 910, whether the electronic device is torespond to the audio input. For example, due to the delay associatedwith the one or more additional devices, the electronic device delays adetermination of whether to respond to the audio input 904 until thesecond advertising session 910, in order to accommodate devices that areunable to assemble necessary information for meeting a fixed-timedeadline of the first advertising session 908. The determination ofwhether to respond to the audio input 904 is described in more detailwith reference to FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary process 1000 for variable latencydevice coordination. For example, exemplary process 1000 may represent ascenario where delay affects a determination of whether to respond to anaudio input, such as delay caused by the electronic device and/orcommunication channels associated with the electronic device. Inoperation, the electronic device detects, with a first process, an event1002 associated with an audio input 1004. In some examples, inaccordance with a detection of the event 1002, the electronic devicedetermines a first delay value associated with the electronic device. Insome examples, the first delay value corresponds to a time required todetermine, with a second process, whether the audio input 1004 includesa spoken trigger. In some examples, a device having low processingcapabilities may transmit data for determining a first delay value to adevice having high processing capabilities. For example, a device 1310,such as a Bluetooth headset, may transmit data for determining a firstdelay value to a device 1304, such as a mobile phone, as shown in FIGS.13A-C. In some examples, the device having high processing capabilitiesmay determine the first delay value using the data received from thedevice having low processing capabilities. In some examples, the devicehaving low processing capabilities may determine the first delay value.In some examples, determining a first delay value associated with theelectronic device includes determining a delay value corresponding to apredetermined maximum delay. For example, a predetermined maximum delaymay correspond to a “worst-case” delay. In some examples, the“worst-case” delay is based on a device type or communication channeltype, or may be used as a default. Such predetermined maximum delays maybe utilized in order to improve system reliability by accounting forfactors that may not be represented in a standard delay determination.

In some examples, determining, with a second process, that the audioinput includes a spoken trigger includes generating data 1012 indicatingthat the audio input 1004 includes a spoken trigger. In some examples,the data 1012 indicating that the audio input 1004 includes a spokentrigger may be referred to as a second pass trigger, and may begenerated at a time corresponding to data 1012 on timeline 1008. In someexamples, the time corresponding to data 1012 on timeline 1008 may bewithin the first advertising session 1010. For example, the timecorresponding to data 1012 occurring within the first advertisingsession 1010 may indicate that the electronic device was unable toassemble the necessary information fast enough to meet the fixed-timedeadline 1016 of the first advertising session 1010.

In some examples, the electronic device determines whether the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold. For example, theelectronic device may determine, at a time associated with a delaydetermination 1006 on timeline 1008, that the delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold. In some examples, determining that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold includes determiningwhether a second electronic device is connected to the electronic deviceusing a wireless connection. For example, when a device such as aBluetooth headset is connected to the electronic device, the electronicdevice may determine that the first delay value exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. Such determination may be automatic, for example, given knowncommunication speeds and/or processing capabilities of wirelesscommunication channels and/or secondary devices. For example, whendetermining whether the audio input 1004 includes a spoken trigger, suchsecondary devices may inherently be unable to assemble necessaryinformation, for making the determination, in time to meet thefixed-time deadline of a first advertising session 1010.

In some examples, determining that the first delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold includes determining whether a device processingcapability satisfies a predetermined threshold. For example, an olderdevice model may be associated with a low device processing capability,in contrast to an advanced device model that may be associated with ahigh device processing capability. In some examples, the first delayvalue may be determined to exceed the predetermined threshold when thedevice is associated with a low device processing capability. In someexamples, determining that the first delay value exceeds a predeterminedthreshold includes determining whether a wireless connection satisfies apredetermined threshold. For example, when one or more wirelessconnections associated with the electronic device are associated with aslow speed or low quality (e.g., a slow WiFi and/or Bluetoothconnection), the first delay value may be determined to exceed thepredetermined threshold. In some examples, determining that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold includes determining bothwhether a device processing capability satisfies a predeterminedprocessing threshold and whether a wireless connection satisfies apredetermined connection threshold.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicebroadcasts the first delay value during a first advertising session1010. For example, the first delay value may be broadcast repeatedlyduring the first advertising session in order to ensure that additionalelectronic devices receive the first delay value. In some examples, thefirst delay value is broadcast using Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE)advertising mode. Other communication methods can be used, including butnot limited to WiFi (e.g., any 802.11 compliant communication), NFC,infrared, sound wave, etc., or any combination thereof. In someexamples, a device having low processing capabilities may transmit, to adevice having high processing capabilities, the first delay value, wherethe device having high processing capabilities may then broadcast,during the first advertising session 1010, the first delay valuereceived from the device having low processing capabilities. In someexamples, a device having high processing capabilities may broadcast,during the first advertising session 1010, the first delay valuedetermined from data received from a device having low processingcapabilities. In some examples, the device having low processingcapabilities may broadcast, during the first advertising session 1010,the first delay value without transmitting, to a device having highprocessing capabilities, the first delay value or data for determiningthe first delay value. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the first delay value exceeds both a predeterminedthreshold and a response threshold, the electronic device may forgobroadcasting the first delay value. For example, when the first delayvalue further exceeds a response threshold, broadcasting the delay valuemay be unnecessary. A response threshold may correspond, for example, toan unacceptably long time period for a response to a user request. Forexample, an unacceptably long time period may correspond to two seconds,three seconds, five seconds, or longer.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicedetermines, based on at least the first delay value, a time associatedwith the second advertising session 1014. In some examples, in responseto determining, with a second process, that the audio input includes aspoken trigger, the electronic device determines, based on at least thefirst delay value, a time associated with the second advertising session1014. In some examples, in response to both a determination that thefirst delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold and that the audioinput includes a spoken trigger with the first pass, a time associatedwith the second advertising session 1014 is determined. In someexamples, one or more times associated with a second advertising session1014 are determined. For example, a time range, or “window,” is set forthe second advertising session 1014. In some examples, in accordancewith a determination that the first delay value exceeds both thepredetermined threshold and the response threshold, the electronicdevice may forgo determining a time for a second advertising session.For example, when the first delay value exceeds the response threshold,determining a time for a second advertising session may be unnecessary,and the electronic device may forgo further device coordination.

In some examples, determining, based on at least the first delay value,a time associated with the second advertising session 1014 includesreceiving at least one additional delay value during the firstadvertising session 1010 and determining a maximum delay value from thefirst delay value and the at least one additional delay value, anddetermining the time associated with the second advertising session 1014based on the maximum delay value. For example, the first delay value maybe equal to ten milliseconds. The electronic device may receive, forexample, a plurality of delay values from other devices, including onemillisecond, two milliseconds, and twenty milliseconds. The electronicdevice may determine that the maximum delay value associated with theplurality of received delay values and the first delay value is twentymilliseconds. Based on the determined maximum delay value, for example,the electronic device may determine a time associated with the secondadvertising session 1014 based on the delay of twenty milliseconds. Forexample, a time range, or “window,” is set for the second advertisingsession 1014 based on the delay of twenty milliseconds, with an addeddelay for a new deadline corresponding to time point 1018 on timeline1008.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicedetermines, during the second advertising session 1014, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input 1004. Thedetermination of whether to respond to the audio input 904 is describedin more detail with reference to FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary process 1100 for variable latencydevice coordination. For example, exemplary process 1100 may represent ascenario where delay affects a determination of whether to respond to anaudio input, and an adjustment of the time associated with a secondadvertising session is performed. In operation, the electronic devicedetects, with a first process, an event 1102 associated with an audioinput 1104. In some examples, in accordance with a detection of theevent 1102, the electronic device determines a first delay valueassociated with the electronic device. In some examples, the first delayvalue corresponds to a time required to determine, with a secondprocess, whether the audio input 1104 includes a spoken trigger.

In some examples, the electronic device determines whether the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold. For example, theelectronic device may determine that the delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold at a time associated with a delay determination1106 on timeline 1108. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the first delay value exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, the electronic device broadcasts the first delay value duringa first advertising session 1110.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicedetermines, based on at least the first delay value, a time associatedwith a second advertising session 1112. In some examples, the electronicdevices determines whether a time associated with the second advertisingsession 1112 satisfies a predetermined criteria. For example, thepredetermined criteria may include a condition that the time associatedwith the second advertising session 1112 occurs within the firstadvertising session 1110. As an example, the determined delay may be asmall delay, such that the time associated with the second advertisingsession 1112 results in the first advertising session 1110 and secondadvertising session 1112 “overlapping” each other. In this case, thetime range, or “window,” for the second advertising session 1112 must beadjusted to guarantee reliable communication periods for devices toproperly send and receive information, for example.

In some examples, the predetermined criteria may include a conditionthat the time associated with the second advertising session 1112 occurswithin a threshold time of an end of the first advertising session 1110.For example, the determined delay may be a small delay, such that thetime associated with the second advertising session 1112 results in aperiod of time between the first advertising session 1110 and secondadvertising session 1112 that is insufficient to guarantee reliablecommunication periods for devices to properly send and receiveinformation. In this case, the time range, or “window,” for the secondadvertising session 1112 must be adjusted to guarantee reliablecommunication periods for devices to properly send and receiveinformation, for example, by increasing a period of time between thefirst advertising session 1110 and second advertising session 1112.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the timeassociated with the second advertising session 1112 satisfies thepredetermined criteria, the electronic device may adjust the timeassociated with the second advertising session 1112. In some examples,adjusting the time associated with the second advertising session 1112includes setting the time associated with the second advertising session1112 to be equal to a time associated with an end of the firstadvertising session 1110. For example, a time equal to the end of thefirst advertising session 1110 and the start of the second advertisingsession 1112 may be represented by a time 1114 associated with timeline1108. In some examples, adjusting the time associated with the secondadvertising session 1112 includes setting the time associated with thesecond advertising session 1112 to be within a threshold time of an endof the first advertising session 1110. For example, the time is adjustedin order to maximize an amount of time that information can be properlytransferred between devices.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination, with a secondprocess, that the audio input 1104 includes a spoken trigger, theelectronic device determines, during the adjusted second advertisingsession 1112, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audioinput. The determination of whether to respond to the audio input 904 isdescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary process 1200 for variable latencydevice coordination. For example, exemplary process 1200 may represent ascenario where delay affects a determination of whether to respond to anaudio input, and the electronic device does not determine whether torespond to the audio input. In operation, the electronic device detects,with a first process, an event 1202 associated with an audio input 1204.In some examples, in accordance with a detection of the event 1202, theelectronic device determines a first delay value associated with theelectronic device. In some examples, the first delay value correspondsto a time required to determine, with a second process, whether theaudio input 1204 includes a spoken trigger.

In some examples, the electronic device determines whether the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold. For example, theelectronic device may determine that the delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold at a time associated with a delay determination1206 on timeline 1208. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the first delay value exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, the electronic device broadcasts the first delay value duringa first advertising session 1210.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicebroadcasts the first delay value during a first advertising session1210. In some examples, in response to determining that the delay valueexceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic device determines,with the second process, whether the audio input 1204 includes a spokentrigger. In some examples, the electronic device may determine, with thesecond process, that that the audio input 1204 does not include a spokentrigger. For example, determining, with a second process, that the audioinput does not include a spoken trigger may include generating data 1212indicating that the audio input 1204 does not include a spoken trigger.In some examples, the data 1212 indicating that the audio input 1204does not include a spoken trigger may be referred to as a second passtrigger, and may be generated at a time corresponding to data 1212 ontimeline 1208. For example, the first process may indicate thepossibility that the audio input 1204 includes a spoken trigger, butupon a more thorough processing of the audio input 1204 by the secondprocess, the electronic device determines that the audio input 1204 doesnot include a spoken trigger. As an example, the electronic device maybe within close range of the user such that a confident determination ofwhether the audio input includes the spoken trigger may be made,although upon processing the audio input 1204 with the second process,the electronic device may confidently determine that the audio input1204 in fact does not include the spoken trigger.

In some examples, in accordance with a determination, with the secondprocess, that the audio input 1204 does not include a spoken trigger,the electronic device may take no further action with respect to thevariable device coordination process. For example, in accordance with adetermination that the audio input 1204 does not include a spokentrigger, the electronic device may forgo determining, during the firstadvertising session, whether a second advertising session is to beinitiated, and may forgo further determining whether the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate processes of determining whether to respond toan audio input. FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate electronic devices 1302, 1304,1306, and 1308 of user 1300. One or more of the devices 1302-1310 may beany of devices 104, 122, 200, 400, and 600 (FIGS. 1, 2A, 3, 4, 5A, and6A-6B) in some embodiments. In some examples, electronic device 1302 isa wearable electronic device, such as a smart watch, and is, optionally,powered off when in a lowered position, as illustrated. In someexamples, electronic device 1304 is a mobile device, such as a mobilephone; electronic device 1306 is an electronic device having relativelylarge display capabilities, such as a television; electronic device 1308is a device having auditory output capabilities, such as a speaker dock;electronic device 1310 is a device having auditory input and outputcapabilities, such as a Bluetooth headset. While the illustrated exampleis described herein with reference to electronic devices 1302-1310, itshould be appreciated that a fewer or greater number of devices may beused in other implementations. Further, electronic devices 1302-1310 maybe associated with different users (not shown).

FIG. 13A illustrates user 1300 providing spoken instruction 1334, “HeySiri find me a TV episode.” In one embodiment, each of electronicdevices 1302-1310 samples audio input and detects spoken instruction1334, respectively. As discussed with respect to FIGS. 8-12 above, anelectronic device may determining, during the first advertising session,whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input or waitfor the second advertising session. In some examples, during a firstadvertising session or a second advertising session, the electronicdevices 1302-1310 initiate an arbitration process to identify (e.g.,determine) an electronic device for responding to the spoken instruction1334 from user 1300. For example, each of electronic devices 1302-1310broadcasts a set of values based on the audio input as sampled on therespective device. Each set of values may include one or more values.For example, electronic device 1304 (implemented as a mobile phone)broadcasts a first set of one or more values based on the spokeninstruction 1334 as sampled on electronic device 1304, while electronicdevice 1308 (implemented as a speaker dock) broadcasts a second set ofone or more values based on the spoken instruction 1334 as sampled onelectronic device 1308. Electronic devices 1302 and 1306 broadcastrespective sets of one or more values as well. The sets of one or morevalues can be broadcast by electronic devices 1302-1310 via anyunidirectional broadcast communications standards, protocols, and/ortechnologies known now or in the future. In some examples, one or moresets of one or more values are broadcast using Bluetooth Low Energy(BTLE) advertising mode. Other communication methods can be used,including but not limited to WiFi (e.g., any 802.11 compliantcommunication), NFC, infrared, sound wave, etc., or any combinationthereof.

In some examples, a set of one or more values broadcast by an electronicdevice includes any number of values. One exemplary value indicates anenergy level of the audio input as sampled on the electronic device. Theenergy level of the sampled audio input may, for instance, be indicativeof the proximity of the electronic device to the user. In some examples,the energy level is measured using known metrics for audio quality, suchas signal-to-noise ratio, sound pressure, or a combination thereof.

Another exemplary value indicates an acoustic fingerprint of the audioinput, that is, whether the audio input is likely provided by aparticular user. In some examples, the electronic device analyzes theaudio input and calculates a confidence value that expresses thelikelihood that the audio input originates from the particular user(e.g., a user that has enrolled in the virtual assistant service on theelectronic device). In some examples, the electronic device determineswhether the audio input is from an authorized user by comparing theconfidence value with a predetermined threshold value, and broadcasts avalue based on the comparison. In some examples, the set of one or morevalues may include a value corresponding to the confidence value aswell.

Another exemplary value indicates a type of the electronic device. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 13A, the electronic device 1304 is amobile phone. It will be appreciated that predetermined values can beused by electronic devices 1302-1310 to indicate different device types,including but not limited to, speaker, television, smart watch, laptop,tablet, mobile device, set-top box, headphones, or any combinationthereof. In some examples, each of the electronic devices 1302-1310broadcasts a “device type” value only when the spoken instructionspecifies a task to be performed.

Another exemplary value indicates a state of the electronic device. Insome examples, the value can, for instance, be indicative of whether theelectronic device has been in an active state (e.g., having received auser input) within a predetermined amount of time before receiving theaudio input. In some examples, the value can indicate whether theelectronic device is in a locked state. In some examples, the value canalso indicate whether the user has recently activated the device or thevirtual assistant service on the device. In some examples, the value canconvey details regarding the recent user input, such as a time stamp, atype of input (e.g., a physical touch, a raising gesture), etc.

Another exemplary value indicates location information of an electronicdevice. In some examples, the value indicates a geographic location ofthe electronic device, for example, using GPS coordinates of theelectronic device, or indicates a named location of the electronicdevice (e.g., the user's living room).

The above-discussed exemplary values correspond to various metricsrelevant to implementing intelligent device arbitration as describedherein. It will be appreciated that any number of values correspondingto these metrics can be broadcast and/or that some or all of the valuescan be used to provide a single value using one or more functions. Thesingle value may thereafter be broadcast during device arbitration asdescribed herein. It will be further appreciated that the one or morefunctions can assign different weights to different values,respectively.

In some examples, the electronic device determines respective valuesand/or broadcasts the values in response determining, with the secondprocess, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, as discussedwith respect to FIGS. 8-12. With reference to FIGS. 13A-13C, the spokentrigger is the phrase “Hey Siri.” In response to determining, with thesecond process, whether the audio input includes the spoken trigger “HeySiri,” each of the electronic devices 802-808 broadcasts the respectiveset of one or more values, as described. As discussed with respect toFIG. 12, for example, if an audio input does not contain a spokentrigger, the electronic device foregoes determining and/or broadcastinga set of one or more values.

Each of the electronic devices 1302-1310 may receive sets of values fromother devices. By way of example, the electronic device 1302 may receivesets of values from electronic devices 1304-1308, the electronic device1304 may receive sets of values from electronic devices 1302, 1306,1308, and so on. After sets of values have been exchanged amongelectronic devices 1302-1310, each device determines whether it is torespond to the audio input by analyzing the sets of values.

In some examples, each device determines whether to respond to thespoken instruction 1334 based on the energy level values broadcast byelectronic devices 1302-1310. Each of the electronic devices 1302-1310compares a respective “energy level” value with the “energy level”values broadcast by other electronic devices. In some examples, anelectronic device responds to the audio input if the electronic devicehas broadcast the highest “energy level” value. As discussed above, ahigher “energy level” value can be indicative of greater proximity tothe user. Because a device closest to a user may be associated with ahighest energy level value, it is beneficial to have an electronicdevice that has broadcast the highest “energy level” value respond tothe spoken instruction 1334.

In some examples, each device determines whether to respond to thespoken instruction 1334 based on the state values broadcast byelectronic devices 1302-1310. Each of the electronic devices 1302-1310compares a respective “state” value with the “state” values broadcast byother electronic devices. As discussed above, the “state” value(s) of anelectronic device can encompass information regarding the operation ofthe electronic device, such as whether it is locked, whether it has beenrecently activated, whether it has recently received particular userinputs. In some examples, an electronic device responds to the audioinput if the user has recently provided an input indicative of an intentto interact with the particular electronic device. Exemplary inputsinclude an active gesture (e.g., on a wearable electronic device), aphysical touch (e.g., on a touch-sensitive screen of a device), etc. Insome examples, an electronic device responds to the audio input if,based on the broadcast “state” values, the electronic device is the onlydevice that is in an unlocked state.

In some examples, each device determines whether to respond to thespoken instruction 1334 based on the acoustic fingerprint valuesbroadcast by electronic devices 1302-1310. Each of the electronicdevices 1302-1310 compares a respective “acoustic fingerprint” valuewith the values broadcast by other electronic devices. In some examples,an electronic device responds to the audio input if, based on thebroadcast values, it is the only electronic device that has recognizedthe user who provided the audio input as an authorized user. Forexample, if user 1300 has enrolled in the virtual assistant service onlyon electronic device 1302 (implemented as a smart watch), electronicdevice 1302 responds to the audio inputs from user 1300.

In some examples, each of the electronic devices 1302-1310 determineswhether to respond to the spoken instruction based on the device typevalues broadcast by electronic devices 1302-1310. Each of the electronicdevices 1302-1310 compares a respective “device type” value(s) with thevalues broadcast by other electronic devices. Device type isparticularly relevant to intelligent device arbitration when the user'sinput specifies a task to be performed, such as “Hey Siri, find me a TVepisode” or “Hey Siri, drive me there.” In some examples, the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input if, based on the broadcastvalues, the electronic device is the only device of a type that canhandle the task specified in the audio input.

In some examples, the electronic device obtains a list of acceptabledevice types that can handle the specified task (e.g., by locallyanalyzing the audio input and/or by receiving the list from one or moreservers), and determines whether the electronic device is to respond tothe audio input based on the broadcast “device type” values and the listof acceptable device types. In some examples, one or more serversreceive data representing the sampled audio input from one or more ofelectronic devices 1302-1310, derive a user intent based on the data,and identify a task having one or more parameters based on the userintent. In some examples, once the one or more servers determine thetask based on the audio input, the one or more servers transmit thetask, parameters (if any), and a list of acceptable device types forhandling the task to the electronic devices that have sampled the audioinput (e.g., electronic devices 1302-1310). Additional details regardingthe identification of a task from a natural language input can be found,for example, in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 15/144,618, entitled“Intelligent Device Identification,” filed May 2, 2016, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

It will be appreciated that the arbitration processes described hereinare exemplary, and that, using one or more numerical and/or logicalfunctions and algorithms, some or all of the values above can befactored, alone or in combination, into the determination of whether anelectronic device is to respond to an audio input. In some examples,each of electronic devices 1302-1310 broadcasts multiple values (e.g.,an aggregated score and a “device type” value). Accordingly, electronicdevices 1302-1310 may arbitrate in accordance with one or morepredetermined algorithms. In some examples, each of electronic devices1302-1310 broadcasts a single score, which is calculated according toone or more functions using some or all of the above-discussed values.For example, a single score for broadcasting can be calculated based ona predetermined weighting of received audio quality (e.g.,signal-to-noise ratio), type of device, ability to perform task, anddevice state. Further, it will be appreciated that a variety of logicaland/or numerical functions and algorithms can be used by each ofelectronic devices 1302-1310. It should be further appreciated thatadjustments to the functions and algorithms can be implemented to adjustthe prioritization of the above-described factors.

The electronic device can respond to an audio input by providing avisual output (e.g., a display notification or LED toggle), an auditoryoutput, a haptic output, or a combination thereof, in some examples. Forexample, electronic device 1304 can respond to the audio input with avisual output (e.g. displaying a transcript of the audio input) and anaudio output (e.g., “Looking for episodes . . . ”). If the electronicdevice determines not to respond to the audio input, the electronicdevice can forego responding to the audio input by entering an inactivemode (e.g. sleep mode).

With reference to FIG. 13A, each of electronic device 1302 (implementedas a smart watch), electronic device 1304 (implemented as a mobilephone), electronic device 1308 (implemented as a speaker dock), andelectronic device 1306 (implemented as a television) generates andbroadcasts a set of one or more values after sampling spoken instruction1334 from user 1300. In this example, each set of one or more valuesincludes an “energy level” value and a “device type” value. By comparingthe broadcast “energy level” values, electronic device 1304 determinesthat it has broadcast the highest “energy level” value among electronicdevices 1302-1310, indicating that electronic device 1304 is inrelatively close proximity to user 1300.

However, electronic device 1304 further analyzes the broadcast “devicetype” values in light of the task specified in the spoken instruction1334. As discussed above, spoken instruction 1334 can be processed andresolved into one or more tasks locally or remotely. For example,electronic device 1304 can resolve the spoken instruction 1334 into atask locally, or receive the task along with a list of acceptable devicetypes for handling the task from one or more servers. In this example,electronic device 1304 determines that it is not of an acceptable (orpreferred) device type for handling the task specified in the audioinput (i.e., playback of a video). As such, electronic device 1304foregoes responding to the audio input.

In some examples, electronic device 1304 further determines whether anyof the rest of the electronic devices can handle the specified task.Electronic device 1304 makes the determination based on the device typesbroadcast by the other electronic devices and the list of acceptabledevice types. In some examples, if electronic device 1304 determinesthat none of the other electronic devices are of an acceptable devicetype for handling the task, electronic device 1304 outputs an errormessage to the user or prompts the user for additional input (e.g.,“would you like the video playback on your iPhone?).

Similarly, electronic device 1306 (implemented as a television) receivesrespective sets of one or more values from electronic devices 1302(implemented as a smart watch), 1308 (implemented as a speaker dock),and 1304 (implemented as a mobile phone). By analyzing the broadcastsets of values, electronic device 1306 determines that it has notbroadcast the highest “energy level” value. But, electronic device 1306further determines that it is of a device type that can handle the taskof video playback. In accordance with the determination, electronicdevice 1306 makes an additional determination of whether it is torespond to the audio input despite not having broadcast the highest“energy level” value. For example, if electronic device 1306 determinesthat none of the electronic devices that have broadcast higher “energylevel” values (e.g., electronic device 1304) are of acceptable devicetypes for handling the task, electronic device 1306 responds to theaudio input. On the other hand, if electronic device 1306 determinesthat there is at least one electronic device that has broadcast a higher“energy level” value and is of an acceptable device type for handlingthe task, electronic device 1306 foregoes responding to the audio input.Forgoing responding to the audio input may include entering an inactivemode in some examples.

Turning to FIG. 13B, user 1300 provides audio input 1312, which includesonly a spoken trigger (“Hey Siri”) and does not specify a task. Inresponse, each of electronic devices 1302-1310 generates and broadcastsa set of one or more values, as described. In some examples, each ofelectronic devices 1302-1310 broadcasts an “energy level” value to eachother. In some examples, each of electronic devices 1302-1310 calculatesa single value aggregating some or all of the exemplary values disclosedherein. In this example, electronic device 1304 determines that it hasbroadcast the highest “energy level” value, indicating that electronicdevice 1304 is closer to user 1300 than the other electronic devices.Accordingly, electronic device 1304 responds to the audio input 1312,and the rest of the electronic devices forego responding to the audioinput.

In some examples, because audio input 1312 (“Hey Siri”) does not specifya task, electronic devices 1302-1310 may forego broadcasting “devicetype” values and rely on “energy level” values solely in the arbitrationprocess. In some examples, electronic devices 1302-1310 foregobroadcasting the “device type” values upon determining that the user hasnot provided another utterance after the spoken trigger (e.g., “HeySiri”) for a predetermined period of time. It will be appreciated that,after an electronic device determines to respond to audio input 1312(“Hey Siri”), the electronic device can receive an utterance specifyinga task and can cause the task to be performed at a second electronicdevice if the electronic device is not of a type for performing thespecified task or is otherwise better suited for performing thespecified task.

Turning to FIG. 13C, user 1300 lifts electronic device 1302 (implementedas a smart watch) into a raised position and then provides audio input1314 (“Hey Siri”). In some examples, the set of one or more valuesbroadcast by electronic device 1302 includes value(s) indicative of theuser's gesture input at electronic device 1302. The value(s) can be asingle value indicative of the presence of a recent user input, or caninclude detailed information regarding the user input, such as a timestamp, an input type, etc. In view of the broadcast “state” value(s) ofelectronic device 1302, electronic devices 1304-1308 forego respondingto the audio input and electronic device 1302 responds to the audioinput. In some examples, an electronic device that has broadcastvalue(s) indicative of a user input of a particular type (e.g. an activegesture, a physical touch) at the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input, regardless of the other values broadcast. In some examples,when multiple electronic devices have broadcast values indicative ofuser inputs of particular types at the respective devices, theelectronic device that has broadcast a value (e.g., time stamp)indicative of the most recent user input is to respond to the audioinput, regardless of the other values broadcast.

In some examples, if an electronic device broadcasts a set of one ormore values and does not receive any set of one or more values fromanother electronic device, the electronic device responds to the audioinput regardless of the values broadcast. Additional details regardingwhether an electronic device is to respond to audio input can be found,for example, in U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 15/268,338, entitled“Intelligent Device Arbitration and Control,” filed Sep. 16, 2016, whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 14 illustrates process 1400 for variable latency devicecoordination, according to various examples. Process 1400 is performed,for example, using one or more electronic devices implementing a digitalassistant. In some examples, process 1400 is performed using aclient-server system (e.g., system 100), and the blocks of process 1400are divided up in any manner between the server (e.g., DA server 106)and a client device. In other examples, the blocks of process 1400 aredivided up between the server and multiple client devices (e.g., amobile phone and a smart watch). Thus, while portions of process 1400are described herein as being performed by particular devices of aclient-server system, it will be appreciated that process 1400 is not solimited. In other examples, process 1400 is performed using only aclient device (e.g., user device 104) or only multiple client devices.In process 1400, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order ofsome blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally,omitted. In some examples, additional steps may be performed incombination with the process 1400. By performing variable latency devicecoordination as described herein, the system improves devicecoordination by accommodating devices that cannot assemble necessaryinformation fast enough to meet the fixed-time deadline of previouscoordination systems. That is, by determining a delay valuecorresponding to a time required to determine whether the audio inputincludes a spoken trigger, the coordination system permits each deviceinvolved in the response process to broadcast a delay value associatedwith that respective device. This coordination scheme allows each deviceto consider all delay values, and to make an informed decision as howbest to proceed in the response process. For instance, the considerationof delay facilitates determining whether a second round of advertisingis required, such as when one or more devices cannot meet the fixed-timedeadline of a first advertising session.

At block 1402, the electronic device detects, with a first process, anevent associated with an audio input. In some examples, in accordancewith a determination that the electronic device is powered on and is notin a standby mode, the electronic device continuously determines, withthe first process, whether an event associated with an audio input isdetected.

At block 1404, in accordance with a detection of the event, theelectronic device determines a first delay value associated with theelectronic device, wherein the first delay value corresponds to a timerequired to determine, with a second process, whether the audio inputincludes a spoken trigger. In some examples, the first process requiresless power consumption than the second process. In some examples,determining a first delay value associated with the electronic deviceincludes determining a delay value corresponding to a predeterminedmaximum delay. In some examples, in accordance with a determination thatthe first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronicdevices determines, based on at least the first delay value, a timeassociated with the second advertising session. In some examples,determining, based on at least the first delay value, a time associatedwith the second advertising session includes receiving at least oneadditional delay value during the first advertising session, determininga maximum delay value from the first delay value and the at least oneadditional delay value, and determining the time associated with thesecond advertising session based on the maximum delay value. Bydetermining a maximum delay value from all broadcast delay values, thecoordination system accommodates a “slowest” device among a plurality ofdevices by calculating the maximum delay of all broadcast delays. Thus,the system dynamically manages variable delays associated with slowerdevices and slower communication channels, and considers a slowestpossible scenario of which to base the timing of the second advertisingsession. This process improves reliability by ensuring that all delayfactors are accounted for when setting the second advertising sessiontime. Furthermore, by considering a predetermined maximum delay whendetermining a delay associated with a slow device, the system improvesreliability in responding to a spoken trigger. For example, apredetermined maximum delay may correspond to a “worst-case” delay valuefor a respective device and/or communication channel. By consideringsuch “worst-case” delays, the system ensures that any factors which mayfurther affect response time are accounted for, such as low probabilityevents that are not reflected in typical device processing capabilitiesor communication channel speeds.

At block 1406, the electronic device may determine that the first delayvalue exceeds a predetermined threshold. In some examples, determiningthat the first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold includesdetermining whether a second electronic device is connected to theelectronic device using a wireless connection. In some examples,determining that the first delay value exceeds a predetermined thresholdincludes determining whether a wireless connection satisfies apredetermined threshold. In some examples, determining that the firstdelay value exceeds a predetermined threshold includes determiningwhether a device processing capability satisfies a predeterminedprocessing threshold and determining whether a wireless connectionsatisfies a predetermined connection threshold. In some examples, inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold, the electronic device determines, with thesecond process, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger,wherein the determination of whether the electronic device is to respondto the audio input occurs in accordance with a determination that theaudio input includes the spoken trigger. By considering delay factorssuch as connected devices, communication channels, and device processingcapabilities, the coordination system employs a multi-dimensionalapproach to delay determination. For example, where many devices havesimilar processing capabilities, although one or more devices areconnected on a slower communication channel, considering communicationchannel speed will have a larger impact on delay determination.Likewise, where processing capabilities and communication channel speedare similar for all devices, but a device such as a Bluetooth headset isconnected to one or more devices, communication with the Bluetoothheadset may necessarily require a larger delay than all other devicesparticipating in the advertising sessions. Thus, the system improvesreliability of device coordination by considering all relevant factorsthat may affect device delay.

At block 1408, in accordance with a determination that the first delayvalue exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicebroadcasts the first delay value during a first advertising session. Insome examples, the electronic device determines whether a timeassociated with the second advertising session satisfies a predeterminedcriteria, where in accordance with a determination that the timeassociated with the second advertising session satisfies thepredetermined criteria, the electronic device adjusts the timeassociated with the second advertising session. In some examples, thepredetermined criteria includes a condition that the time associatedwith the second advertising session occurs within the first advertisingsession. In some examples, the predetermined criteria includes acondition that the time associated with the second advertising sessionoccurs within a threshold time of an end of the first advertisingsession. In some examples, adjusting the time associated with the secondadvertising session includes setting the time associated with the secondadvertising session to be equal to a time associated with an end of thefirst advertising session. In some examples, adjusting the timeassociated with the second advertising session includes setting the timeassociated with the second advertising session to be within a thresholdtime of an end of the first advertising session. By considering when asecond advertising session is to begin with respect to the timing of afirst advertising session, the system ensures that the timing for boththe first and second advertising sessions are optimized. For example,when a delay time is so short such that there is no gap between thefirst advertising session and the second advertising session, the systemadjusts the timing of the second advertising session in order tomaximize the time that signals within the first advertising session andthe second advertising session can be heard by all participatingdevices. As another example, adjusting the time associated with thesecond advertising session prevents the first and second advertisingsessions from overlapping, which would result in interference betweenbroadcasts within the first advertising session and broadcasts withinthe second advertising session. This optimization further improvesreliability of the system by ensuring that all broadcast signals areeffectively received by devices that require the broadcast information,and such broadcasts are sent and received within the proper windows.

At block 1410, in accordance with a determination that the first delayvalue exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicedetermines, during a second advertising session, whether the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input. In some examples, in accordancewith a determination that the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input, the electronic device determines whether one or morebroadcast values are received from a second electronic device, and inaccordance with a determination that one or more broadcast values arereceived from at least one additional electronic device, the electronicdevice transmits, to the second electronic device, an indication thatthe electronic device is to respond to the audio input. By communicatingthat the electronic device is to respond to the audio input in thismanner, the system handles “straggler” devices by informing such devicesthat the device coordination process has already taken place. That is,the system effectively handles devices that did not broadcast during theproper advertising sessions by listening for such devices even when thecoordination process has finished, and communicates with such devicesaccordingly.

At block 1412, the electronic device may determine that the first delayvalue does not exceed a predetermined threshold. In some examples, inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value does notexceed a predetermined threshold, the electronic device determines,during the first advertising session, whether a second advertisingsession is to be initiated, and in accordance with a determination thata second advertising session is to be initiated, the electronic devicedetermines, during the second advertising session, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input. In some examples, inaccordance with a determination that a second advertising session is notto be initiated, the electronic device determines, during the firstadvertising session, whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input. In some examples, determining, during the first advertisingsession, whether a second advertising session is to be initiatedincludes, in accordance with a determination that no delay values arereceived during the first advertising session, determining that a secondadvertising session is not to be initiated, and in accordance with adetermination that one or more delay values are received during thefirst advertising session, determining that a second advertising sessionis to be initiated. In some examples, determining that a secondadvertising session is to be initiated includes determining a maximumdelay value from one or more received delay values, and determining thetime associated with the second advertising session based on the maximumdelay value. By selectively determining whether the electronic device isto respond to the audio input within either a first advertising sessionor a second advertising session, the system only utilizes a secondadvertising session when necessary. That is, system efficiency andresponse time are improved by determining, during a first advertisingsession. whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio inputwhen no “slow” devices are detected. In turn, the system does notinitiate a second advertising session, which results in a fasterresponse to a spoken trigger.

At block 1414, in accordance with a determination that the first delayvalue does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the electronic devicemay determine, during the first advertising session, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input or wait for thesecond advertising session. In some examples, in accordance with adetermination that the first delay value does not exceed a predeterminedthreshold, the electronic device determines, with the second process,whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein thedetermination of whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input occurs in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes the spoken trigger. By determining whether to respond tothe audio input on the basis of the spoken trigger, the coordinationprocess limits the devices attempting to respond to audio input to onlythose devices that determine with confidence that the audio inputincludes a spoken trigger. Furthermore, in the case where no delay valueis associated with the device, the system improves response time andefficiency by proceeding to determine whether to respond to the audioinput, and only doing so in a second advertising session if necessary.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 14 are optionallyimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-6B, and 7A-7C. Forexample, the operations of process 1400 may be implemented by one ormore of operating system 718, applications module 724, I/O processingmodule 728, STT processing module 730, natural language processingmodule 732, vocabulary index 744, task flow processing module 736,service processing module 738, media service(s) 120-1, or processor(s)220, 410, 704. It would be clear to a person having ordinary skill inthe art how other processes are implemented based on the componentsdepicted in FIGS. 1-4, 6A-6B, and 7A-7C.

In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) isprovided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms for execution by one or more processors of an electronicdevice, the one or more programs including instructions for performingany of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises means forperforming any of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises a processing unitconfigured to perform any of the methods or processes described herein.

In accordance with some implementations, an electronic device (e.g., aportable electronic device) is provided that comprises one or moreprocessors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by theone or more processors, the one or more programs including instructionsfor performing any of the methods or processes described herein.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the techniques and their practical applications. Othersskilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniquesand various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined bythe claims.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is thegathering and use of data available from various sources to improvedevice coordination between a plurality of devices that each have theability to initiate a digital assistant . The present disclosurecontemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may includepersonal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used tocontact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data caninclude demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, emailaddresses, twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records relating to auser's health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements,medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or anyother identifying or personal information.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personalinformation data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefitof users. For example, the personal information data can be used todetermine whether audio input includes a spoken trigger. Accordingly,use of such personal information data enables recognition of the spokentrigger in order to further facilitate determination of whether torespond to an audio input. Further, other uses for personal informationdata that benefit the user are also contemplated by the presentdisclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provideinsights into a user's general wellness, or may be used as positivefeedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals.

The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible forthe collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information data will comply with well-established privacypolicies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities shouldimplement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining personal information data private andsecure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and shouldbe updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personalinformation from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonableuses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimateuses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving theinformed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities shouldconsider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access tosuch personal information data and ensuring that others with access tothe personal information data adhere to their privacy policies andprocedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluationby third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacypolicies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should beadapted for the particular types of personal information data beingcollected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards,including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US,collection of or access to certain health data may be governed byfederal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries maybe subject to other regulations and policies and should be handledaccordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained fordifferent personal data types in each country.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, in the caseof enrolling a user in a spoken trigger recognition process, the presenttechnology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or“opt out” of participation in the collection of personal informationdata during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In anotherexample, users can select to “opt in” or “opt out” of a process thatautomatically listens for a spoken trigger. In yet another example,users can select to “opt in” or “opt out” of a process thatautomatically listens for a spoken trigger when the electronic device isin a locked state. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out”options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notificationsrelating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, auser may be notified upon downloading an app that their personalinformation data will be accessed and then reminded again just beforepersonal information data is accessed by the app.

Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personalinformation data should be managed and handled in a way to minimizerisks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can beminimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once itis no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including incertain health related applications, data de-identification can be usedto protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, whenappropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth,etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g.,collecting location data at a city level rather than at an addresslevel), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data acrossusers), and/or other methods.

Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data. For example, variablelatency device coordination and determination of whether to respond toan audio input can be performed based on non-personal information dataor a bare minimum amount of personal information, such as the contentbeing requested by the device associated with a user, other non-personalinformation available to the intelligent automated assistant, orpublicly available information.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs, the one or more programs comprisinginstructions, which when executed by one or more processors of anelectronic device, cause the electronic device to: detect, with a firstprocess, an event associated with an audio input; in accordance with adetection of the event, determine a first delay value associated withthe electronic device, wherein the first delay value corresponds to atime required to determine, with a second process, whether the audioinput includes a spoken trigger; in accordance with a determination thatthe first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold: broadcast thefirst delay value during a first advertising session; and determine,during a second advertising session, whether the electronic device is torespond to the audio input; in accordance with a determination that thefirst delay value does not exceed a predetermined threshold, determine,during the first advertising session, whether the electronic device isto respond to the audio input or wait for the second advertisingsession.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim1, wherein in accordance with a determination that the first delay valueexceeds a predetermined threshold, the instructions further cause theelectronic device to: determine, based on at least the first delayvalue, a time associated with the second advertising session.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, whereindetermining, based on at least the first delay value, the timeassociated with the second advertising session further comprises:receiving at least one additional delay value during the firstadvertising session; determining a maximum delay value from the firstdelay value and the at least one additional delay value; and determiningthe time associated with the second advertising session based on themaximum delay value.
 4. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein in accordance with a determination that thefirst delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, the instructionsfurther cause the electronic device to: determine, with the secondprocess, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein thedetermination of whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input occurs in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes the spoken trigger.
 5. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein in accordance witha determination that the first delay value does not exceed apredetermined threshold, the instructions further cause the electronicdevice to: determine, during the first advertising session, whether asecond advertising session is to be initiated; in accordance with adetermination that a second advertising session is to be initiated,determine, during the second advertising session, whether the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input; and in accordance with adetermination that a second advertising session is not to be initiated,determine, during the first advertising session, whether the electronicdevice is to respond to the audio input.
 6. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein determining, duringthe first advertising session, whether a second advertising session isto be initiated further comprises: in accordance with a determinationthat no delay values are received by the electronic device during thefirst advertising session, determining that a second advertising sessionis not to be initiated; and in accordance with a determination that oneor more delay values are received by the electronic device during thefirst advertising session, determining that a second advertising sessionis to be initiated.
 7. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 6, wherein determining that a second advertising sessionis to be initiated further comprises: determining a maximum delay valuefrom one or more received delay values; and determining a timeassociated with the second advertising session based on the maximumdelay value.
 8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein in accordance with a determination that the first delayvalue does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the instructionsfurther cause the electronic device to: determine, with the secondprocess, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein thedetermination of whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input occurs in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes the spoken trigger.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein determining a firstdelay value associated with the electronic device includes determining adelay value corresponding to a predetermined maximum delay.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theinstructions further cause the electronic device to: determine whether atime associated with the second advertising session satisfies apredetermined criteria; and in accordance with a determination that thetime associated with the second advertising session satisfies thepredetermined criteria, adjust the time associated with the secondadvertising session.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 10, wherein the predetermined criteria includes acondition that the time associated with the second advertising sessionoccurs within the first advertising session.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the predeterminedcriteria includes a condition that the time associated with the secondadvertising session occurs within a threshold time of an end of thefirst advertising session.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 10, wherein adjusting the time associated withthe second advertising session further comprises: setting the timeassociated with the second advertising session to be equal to a timeassociated with an end of the first advertising session.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereinadjusting the time associated with the second advertising sessionfurther comprises: setting the time associated with the secondadvertising session to be within a threshold time of an end of the firstadvertising session.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the electronicdevice to: in accordance with a determination that the electronic deviceis to respond to the audio input, determine whether one or morebroadcast values are received from a second electronic device; and inaccordance with a determination that one or more broadcast values arereceived from a second electronic device, transmit, to the secondelectronic device, an indication that the electronic device is torespond to the audio input.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein the first process requires less powerconsumption than the second process.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein in accordance witha determination that the electronic device is powered on and is not in astandby mode, the instructions further cause the electronic device to:continuously determine, with the first process, whether an eventassociated with an audio input is detected.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein determining thatthe first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold furthercomprises: determining whether a second electronic device is connectedto the electronic device using a wireless connection.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, whereindetermining that the first delay value exceeds a predetermined thresholdfurther comprises: determining whether a wireless connection satisfies apredetermined threshold.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein determining that the first delayvalue exceeds a predetermined threshold further comprises: determiningwhether a device processing capability satisfies a predeterminedprocessing threshold; and determining whether a wireless connectionsatisfies a predetermined connection threshold.
 21. An electronicdevice, comprising: one or more processors; a memory; and one or moreprograms, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory andconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or moreprograms including instructions for: detecting, with a first process, anevent associated with an audio input; in accordance with a detection ofthe event, determining a first delay value associated with theelectronic device, wherein the first delay value corresponds to a timerequired to determine, with a second process, whether the audio inputincludes a spoken trigger; in accordance with a determination that thefirst delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold: broadcasting thefirst delay value during a first advertising session; and determining,during a second advertising session, whether the electronic device is torespond to the audio input; in accordance with a determination that thefirst delay value does not exceed a predetermined threshold,determining, during the first advertising session, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input or wait for thesecond advertising session.
 22. The electronic device of claim 21, theone or more programs further including instructions for: in accordancewith a determination that the first delay value exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, determining, based on at least the first delay value, a timeassociated with the second advertising session.
 23. The electronicdevice of claim 22, wherein determining, based on at least the firstdelay value, the time associated with the second advertising sessionfurther comprises: receiving at least one additional delay value duringthe first advertising session; determining a maximum delay value fromthe first delay value and the at least one additional delay value; anddetermining the time associated with the second advertising sessionbased on the maximum delay value.
 24. The electronic device of claim 21,the one or more programs further including instructions for: inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold, determining, with the second process, whetherthe audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein the determination ofwhether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input occurs inaccordance with a determination that the audio input includes the spokentrigger.
 25. The electronic device of claim 21, the one or more programsfurther including instructions for: in accordance with a determinationthat the first delay value does not exceed a predetermined threshold:determining, during the first advertising session, whether a secondadvertising session is to be initiated; in accordance with adetermination that a second advertising session is to be initiated,determining, during the second advertising session, whether theelectronic device is to respond to the audio input; and in accordancewith a determination that a second advertising session is not to beinitiated, determining, during the first advertising session, whetherthe electronic device is to respond to the audio input.
 26. Theelectronic device of claim 25, wherein determining, during the firstadvertising session, whether a second advertising session is to beinitiated further comprises: in accordance with a determination that nodelay values are received by the electronic device during the firstadvertising session, determining that a second advertising session isnot to be initiated; and in accordance with a determination that one ormore delay values are received by the electronic device during the firstadvertising session, determining that a second advertising session is tobe initiated.
 27. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein determiningthat a second advertising session is to be initiated further comprises:determining a maximum delay value from one or more received delayvalues; and determining a time associated with the second advertisingsession based on the maximum delay value.
 28. The electronic device ofclaim 21, the one or more programs further including instructions for:in accordance with a determination that the first delay value does notexceed a predetermined threshold, determining, with the second process,whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein thedetermination of whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input occurs in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes the spoken trigger.
 29. The electronic device of claim21, wherein determining a first delay value associated with theelectronic device includes determining a delay value corresponding to apredetermined maximum delay.
 30. The electronic device of claim 21, theone or more programs further including instructions for: determiningwhether a time associated with the second advertising session satisfiesa predetermined criteria; and in accordance with a determination thatthe time associated with the second advertising session satisfies thepredetermined criteria, adjusting the time associated with the secondadvertising session.
 31. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein thepredetermined criteria includes a condition that the time associatedwith the second advertising session occurs within the first advertisingsession.
 32. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein thepredetermined criteria includes a condition that the time associatedwith the second advertising session occurs within a threshold time of anend of the first advertising session.
 33. The electronic device of claim30, wherein adjusting the time associated with the second advertisingsession further comprises: setting the time associated with the secondadvertising session to be equal to a time associated with an end of thefirst advertising session.
 34. The electronic device of claim 31,wherein adjusting the time associated with the second advertisingsession further comprises: setting the time associated with the secondadvertising session to be within a threshold time of an end of the firstadvertising session.
 35. The electronic device of claim 21, the one ormore programs further including instructions for: in accordance with adetermination that the electronic device is to respond to the audioinput, determining whether one or more broadcast values are receivedfrom a second electronic device; and in accordance with a determinationthat one or more broadcast values are received from a second electronicdevice, transmitting, to the second electronic device, an indicationthat the electronic device is to respond to the audio input.
 36. Theelectronic device of claim 21, wherein the first process requires lesspower consumption than the second process.
 37. The electronic device ofclaim 21, the one or more programs further including instructions for:in accordance with a determination that the electronic device is poweredon and is not in a standby mode, continuously determining, with thefirst process, whether an event associated with an audio input isdetected.
 38. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein determiningthat the first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold furthercomprises: determining whether a second electronic device is connectedto the electronic device using a wireless connection.
 39. The electronicdevice of claim 21, wherein determining that the first delay valueexceeds a predetermined threshold further comprises: determining whethera wireless connection satisfies a predetermined threshold.
 40. A method,comprising: at an electronic device with one or more processors andmemory: detecting, with a first process, an event associated with anaudio input; in accordance with a detection of the event, determining afirst delay value associated with the electronic device, wherein thefirst delay value corresponds to a time required to determine, with asecond process, whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger; inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold: broadcasting the first delay value during afirst advertising session; and determining, during a second advertisingsession, whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input;in accordance with a determination that the first delay value does notexceed a predetermined threshold, determining, during the firstadvertising session, whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input or wait for the second advertising session.
 41. The methodof claim 40, further comprising: in accordance with a determination thatthe first delay value exceeds a predetermined threshold, determining,based on at least the first delay value, a time associated with thesecond advertising session.
 42. The method of claim 41, whereindetermining, based on at least the first delay value, the timeassociated with the second advertising session further comprises:receiving at least one additional delay value during the firstadvertising session; determining a maximum delay value from the firstdelay value and the at least one additional delay value; and determiningthe time associated with the second advertising session based on themaximum delay value.
 43. The method of claim 40, further comprising: inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value exceeds apredetermined threshold, determining, with the second process, whetherthe audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein the determination ofwhether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input occurs inaccordance with a determination that the audio input includes the spokentrigger.
 44. The method of claim 40, further comprising: in accordancewith a determination that the first delay value does not exceed apredetermined threshold: determining, during the first advertisingsession, whether a second advertising session is to be initiated; inaccordance with a determination that a second advertising session is tobe initiated, determining, during the second advertising session,whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input; and inaccordance with a determination that a second advertising session is notto be initiated, determining, during the first advertising session,whether the electronic device is to respond to the audio input.
 45. Themethod of claim 44, wherein determining, during the first advertisingsession, whether a second advertising session is to be initiated furthercomprises: in accordance with a determination that no delay values arereceived by the electronic device during the first advertising session,determining that a second advertising session is not to be initiated;and in accordance with a determination that one or more delay values arereceived by the electronic device during the first advertising session,determining that a second advertising session is to be initiated. 46.The method of claim 45, wherein determining that a second advertisingsession is to be initiated further comprises: determining a maximumdelay value from one or more received delay values; and determining atime associated with the second advertising session based on the maximumdelay value.
 47. The method of claim 40, further comprising: inaccordance with a determination that the first delay value does notexceed a predetermined threshold, determining, with the second process,whether the audio input includes a spoken trigger, wherein thedetermination of whether the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input occurs in accordance with a determination that the audioinput includes the spoken trigger.
 48. The method of claim 40, whereindetermining a first delay value associated with the electronic deviceincludes determining a delay value corresponding to a predeterminedmaximum delay.
 49. The method of claim 40, further comprising:determining whether a time associated with the second advertisingsession satisfies a predetermined criteria; and in accordance with adetermination that the time associated with the second advertisingsession satisfies the predetermined criteria, adjusting the timeassociated with the second advertising session.
 50. The method of claim49, wherein the predetermined criteria includes a condition that thetime associated with the second advertising session occurs within thefirst advertising session.
 51. The method of claim 49, wherein thepredetermined criteria includes a condition that the time associatedwith the second advertising session occurs within a threshold time of anend of the first advertising session.
 52. The method of claim 49,wherein adjusting the time associated with the second advertisingsession further comprises: setting the time associated with the secondadvertising session to be equal to a time associated with an end of thefirst advertising session.
 53. The method of claim 49, wherein adjustingthe time associated with the second advertising session furthercomprises: setting the time associated with the second advertisingsession to be within a threshold time of an end of the first advertisingsession.
 54. The method of claim 40, further comprising: in accordancewith a determination that the electronic device is to respond to theaudio input, determining whether one or more broadcast values arereceived from a second electronic device; and in accordance with adetermination that one or more broadcast values are received from asecond electronic device, transmitting, to the second electronic device,an indication that the electronic device is to respond to the audioinput.
 55. The method of claim 40, wherein the first process requiresless power consumption than the second process.
 56. The method of claim40, the one or more programs further including instructions for: inaccordance with a determination that the electronic device is powered onand is not in a standby mode, continuously determining, with the firstprocess, whether an event associated with an audio input is detected.57. The method of claim 40, wherein determining that the first delayvalue exceeds a predetermined threshold further comprises: determiningwhether a second electronic device is connected to the electronic deviceusing a wireless connection.
 58. The method of claim 40, whereindetermining that the first delay value exceeds a predetermined thresholdfurther comprises: determining whether a wireless connection satisfies apredetermined threshold.